Linked
by Nenny
Summary: Emma really should have known better than to accept a gift from Captain Hook, especially a magical one. He really should have known better than to underestimate her. Captain Swan. Rated M for violence and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The idea for this fic came from what I thought was a suspicious bit of dialogue from Killian. It made me think Emma actually made the right decision in leaving him behind at the time. This story diverges from canon after "Tallahassee" and will be a Killian/Emma story…eventually. I do hope they get together in the show as well. ^_^

Edit 11/29 Special thanks to my new beta Rapunzel215!

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**Chapter 1**

Emma jumped back quickly and out of reach the second she heard the manacles' metallic click, she tried to control herself as her racing heart made her head feel light. She honestly couldn't believe that had worked. She had been positive that he would read her intentions like the open book he claimed her to be.

"What are you doing?" He asked, hesitantly rising to his feet; he looked so lost and confused. His voice even had a slight tremble toward the end of his statement. It didn't surprise her in the least; he'd been convinced she was wrapped around his little finger, after all. Still trying to catch her breath after the adrenaline rush from not only fighting off a giant but also pulling a fast one on Captain Hook, she started to explain why. However, he cut her off, pleading with her before she could even really start.

"Emma look at me, have I told you a lie? I brought you here; I risked my own safety to help you. The compass is in your hand, why do this to me now?"

Emma tilted her head and eyed him; oh, but he was good. Had he lied to her? Well actually she was fairly certain that he'd done just that. Climbing up a beanstalk gave a girl plenty of time to think things through, no matter how talkative and invasively inquisitive her climbing partner had been. In that time she'd been doing nothing but punching holes in his little stories.

"Because," she folded her arms, her confidence back now that she'd calmed down a bit, and his wounded look dropped fractionally in reaction. "I need the head start on whatever plan you and Cora have cooked up. Or did you honestly expect me to buy that she ever had the intention of climbing that beanstalk? You're forgetting that I've actually met the woman, Hook, and that's not her style. Not even close. She's the type to get lackeys to do it for her - oh, wait..."

She could see him gritting his teeth and his eyes actually narrowed this time, he knew he'd been caught. She smirked, "See that's the thing about lies: you've gotta keep it simple or it'll blow up in your face. I did warn you I could spot them a mile away."

"Being schooled on lying by a princess, I must say this is a new low," he sneered, but something like a gut instinct, told her that he was angrier at himself then he was at her.

"I'm not a princess," Emma responded, rolling her eyes. If only he knew that his jab about her being a good pirate really wasn't that far off base. She'd been the modern equivalent of one for most of her teenage years. Which gave her an edge he clearly hadn't been expecting, probably still didn't. He'd underestimated her, again, and now he was going to pay for it. "Never have been, and honestly don't want to be one."

For a split second the boiling anger in his eyes was replaced by acute interest in her comment, before she could almost see him shake himself mentally and the anger was back. "So what is to become of me? Are you just going to leave me here to die? That beast to eat me, to crush my bones?!"

"He is not a beast!" Emma snapped, and took a step forward before checking herself; it wouldn't be wise to get within grabbing distance. How dare he insult the poor man…creature …giant that was being so kind to her considering she'd invaded his home, tried to steal his stuff, and threatened his life. "And you are not going to die! I told you I needed a head start no more, no less. I'd never leave you or anyone, here to die. I'm not you and I'm certainly not Cora" They glared at one another for another moment, before she turned and walked away from him. "Goodbye Killian."

Emma ignored the yells of "Swan!" that echoed after her as she made her way out of the vast treasure room. She knew this was going to come back to bite her, Hook didn't strike her as a man to take this kind of thing lying down. No, when he was let go in ten hours he was coming after her, and her little band of travelers. But she really didn't see any other options, he was going to turn on them and she couldn't risk that, not with Henry's safety on the line should Cora beat her home. Once outside, Emma bolted for the beanstalk and began to climb down as quickly as she could. She knew her time was almost up and that Mulan, steadfast as she was, would start cutting soon.

She made it about three-quarters of the way down and could see her group clearly now, when suddenly the beanstalk shuddered and pulsed. A faint scream reached her ears and she glance down again to see what looked like Mary Margaret and Mulan wrestling on the ground next to the plant. Wincing slightly, knowing that this was going to hurt, she took a deep breath as she gave up on climbing. Instead, she allowed herself to drop in small, quick increments. The action pulled on her shoulder blades painfully and the cut on her had virtually screamed in pain, but she persisted.

"Stop!" she yelled finally before allowing herself to fall the last few feet. She hit the ground with a grunt of pain and rolled to the side when her legs gave out.

"Emma!" She heard Mary Margaret yell as she ran over to help her. "Are you ok?!"

"Two earthquakes and a jump from a beanstalk, I think my brains still rattling around a bit," She groused as Mary Margaret helped her to stand on still shaky legs.

"I did what you ordered, nothing more than that." Emma rolled her eyes quickly as she watched Mulan and Mary Margaret size one another up. She could already tell that she was going to get a talking to by at least one if not both of them in the hours to come for this. She was not looking forward to that. "Did you get it?"

"Yup," she said, feeling inordinately proud for a moment as she held the compass before her. She knew what at least two of the three saw when they looked at her. They saw a lost and confused little girl who couldn't possibly take care of herself in this mystical world. Well, this beginner had just beaten a giant and Captain friggin' Hook to the prize everyone wanted. God, was it satisfying.

Then it all came crashing down as Aurora asked the question Emma didn't want to answer. "Where's Hook?"

"He's detained," she said flippantly, trying to pass the monumental fact off as nothing. It seemed to work for a moment as both Aurora and Mulan moved to gather their things. "Let's go, get your stuff. We got ten hours before he follows us."

"What?" Mary Margaret breathed out in shock. She should have known her friend would catch the significance of this turn of events. This Snow White infused version of Mary Margaret was much more observant and capable than the vague school teacher she'd been. "How?"

"I have a … friend looking after him until then," Emma responded, her breath still a little ragged after her death-defying decent. She thought it was a little strange that she was still winded even now; her little bean stalk adventure must have tired her out more than she thought. Then Mary Margaret pulled her a few feet away from the other two before rounding on her like the angry momma bear that she was.

"You told her to cut it down?" She asked and Emma could hear the tremble in her voice and see the tears gathering in her bright blue eyes.

"Yea, I couldn't risk-"

"We go back together!" Mary Margaret said cutting her off. She shook Emma as if the action could impress this fact upon her, or perhaps to shake some sense into her. "That is the only way. Do you understand?"

Emma stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say, before pulling the dark haired woman into a tight hug. It seemed to convince her friend that she saw things her way, and calmed her. But as Emma look out at the trees beyond her shoulder she knew that wasn't the case. If the decision was presented to her again she would choose Mary Margaret over herself without fail. She may not have been mentally ready to completely accept that this woman, who was the same age as her and the best friend she'd had in years, was her mother. But that didn't mean she didn't care about her, that she wouldn't put her first.

Even if that meant never returning to Henry, because in all honesty, even if he lost her he'd have his grandparents and they were fantastic people. He'd be ok without her, it would hurt him, she knew, but at least he'd be loved and safe.

"Everything is ready." Mulan said in her stoic tone. "We should get moving; the sun will set soon enough."

They all agreed and began to file away from the beanstalk with Emma taking up the rear. At the tree line she paused and looked back at the towering plant. _"I don't mean to upset you Emma but I think we make quite the team!"_

She sighed and shook her head before turning away again and jogging slightly to catch up to the rest of the group. The annoying part was that he was right; they had been a good team. She wasn't really sure what she felt in regards to the pirate but if she was forced to name it at gunpoint she would have probably said disappointed. She'd really wanted to believe in him, especially after seeing the look on his face when he talked about his Milah. But she'd learned the hard way that people like that just couldn't be trusted, no matter how badly you might want to.

0oo0o0ooo

Hook sat staring at the treasure room around him, no longer angry but bored out of his mind. He'd given up trying to pick the cuff's lock several hours ago after it had proven futile; at this point he was positive that it held some form of magic. He'd also given up yelling for the giant to let him go a little while after that. The creature had told him that he'd be let go in ten hours, no more no less, and that if he persisted in being annoying the giant would forget his promise and kill him. So he'd taken the smart approach and shut his mouth. He couldn't very well hunt a crocodile, or his clever little princess, if he was dead now, could he? He smirked at the thought of her; he couldn't wait to get back at her for this.

This was the second time he'd underestimated her and she'd made him pay dearly for it. He swore that it wouldn't happen a third. Well at least he could comfort himself with the knowledge that it wasn't a total victory on her part.

Hook rolled his shoulders and then lifted his wrist with the magical bracer up for closer inspection. Already he could see a slight glow around it and he could feel the magic pulsing through him. He smirked and then chuckled; no she hadn't really won at all yet. He wondered; as he twisted his good arm this way and that, how long it would be before she tried to take it off. He dearly wished he could be there when she did, if only to see the shock on her face. To see the realization, that he'd well and truly tricked her.

He hadn't had this much fun in years.

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A/N:Please Read and Review! ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

0_o So um…my inbox was full of follows, reviews and favorites. Just…WOW I'm glad you all like this story. O and Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers!

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**Chapter 2**

Emma would never admit it, but she was completely and utterly exhausted. As it was she had to make a concentrated effort to keep moving one foot in front of the other. Finally she was forced to stop as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Shutting her eyes she roughly rubbed her face trying to shake off the moment, and after a deep breath, continued forward again. She would like nothing more than too collapse at the base of a tree and just _sleep_; but they were still far too close to Hook for her comfort. They needed to put more ground between themselves and him before resting. Because she could tell, just from the way she was feeling, that if she stopped she wasn't getting back up for a while.

"Emma?" She looked up from the ground, how long had she been watching her feet, and blinked slowly at Aurora who was now walking beside her. "Emma, are you alright? You look exhausted."

"I'm…" She said her voice sounding thready and weak, it shocked her and she mentally shook herself before starting again. "I'm just a little tired is all, I'm fine."

"Emma, you're very pale… you look sick. Are you sure you don't want to stop?" She seemed genuinely concerned and Emma realized she must have actually _looked_ bad if the flighty princess was worried about her. "I could run a head and get Snow and Mulan. This seems as good a place as any to stop."

Emma was confused by the statement and she looked ahead at the other two members of their group. She was shocked to realize that both Mary-Margaret and Mulan were so far ahead she could barely make out their backs through the trees in the growing twilight. They seemed to be arguing with one another about something, probably the earlier incident, and as a result they were oblivious to the fact that she and Aurora were so far behind. Emma stomach dropped when she realized that if it wasn't for Aurora she very well could have been left behind and lost in this forest. Well that wasn't surprising given the kind of luck she'd had all her life.

"No…I'm ok, I'm just really tired."She said forcing her reluctant legs to move faster in an effort to catch up. Unconsciously she rubbed the bracer Killian had given her, which had started to chaff and it caused the skin of her wrist to itch. Once they stopped for the night she would work on getting it off, she just didn't have the time to fool around with it right now. "I still want to put a few more miles between us and Killian. I know he's probably climbing down, if not already following us. I want to give us enough wiggle room that he won't be able to catch up while we're resting."

"Killian?" Aurora raised an eyebrow at her and Emma realized her mistake. She cleared her throat and ignored the questions in the younger woman's eyes, they were stupid anyway. So what if she'd called him Killian. It was his name, it didn't mean anything.

"What? It's his name. Anyway, I still want to keep walking for as long as I – we can." She said but the words took more effort than they should have. She dearly wished this … "world" had a Seven-Eleven where she could get some Red Bull.

The two of them walked in silence for a little while longer before she was forced to stop and actually make the effort to look at her wrist. Emma squinted at the appendage in the dying light, something was wrong with it, very wrong. It no longer hurt or itched, instead it felt like it had gone completely numb. She blinked sluggishly at the bracer on her wrist as her thoughts tried desperately to fight against the growing darkness in her mind. There was something she should have realized, something she missed and now it was coming back to bit her…back to bit her? That's right, he was going to come after her, _was_ after her, and that's why she needed to move.

The final pulse, yes it was a pulse, of dizziness, no… it wasn't dizziness it was something else, swept over her and her legs gave out. Aurora, who'd stopped when she did, reached out and caught Emma with a gasp. She was thankfully able to slow the older woman's decent to the forest floor and laid her down shaking her shoulder. Emma could just hear the young princess's panicked yells, both to her and to the other party members, over the ringing in her ears. She vaguely noticed Mary Margaret reach her side as her breath slowed, blackness crept across her vision and her consciousness faded.

0oo00o0o0oo

"Many thanks my friend!" Killian yelled as the giant finally released him, and the creature stared back unimpressed. He smiled nervously as he moved carefully toward the exit, more a giant mouse hole than anything else. "I'll just take my leave then, shall I?"

"Little man," the beast's voice boomed and Killian twitched. "I do not want to see you again."

"Don't worry. You won't." He said quickly and then bolted out of the building and across the courtyard. Without a moment's hesitation he began the process of climbing down the towering plant. From the angle of the light through the clouds he could tell that it was close to sunset, maybe a few hours before, and he really wanted to get down before dark. Using his hook to his advantage he was able to slide and swing his way down to the ground below, far quicker than if he'd had two hands.

"That was an experience," he muttered as he paused at the bottom to brush off the plant debris that had gathered on his shirt.

He took a moment to survey his surroundings and what they could tell him about his quarry. Making note of the fact that they'd left his things behind, and that the footsteps left on the ground around him led straight to the trees. If he hadn't had the bracer as a link to Emma, he honestly wouldn't have needed it. They'd left such a clear trail in their haste that a novice could have tracked them without much difficulty. For someone with three hundred years experience, it was insulting. Shaking his head with an incredulous smirk he walked over to his discarded possessions at the base of the plant, he wasn't in any rush. They weren't going to get away, _she_ wasn't getting away; not with that bracer on. He also had at least another day before Cora realized he'd taken matters into his own hands so to speak. She may have added a protection spell to the items, but they _were_ his to begin with. He didn't need her permission to use his property as he saw fit. Her plans be damned, history proved she wasn't very good at making them, and until Swan, he'd never had a failed at one. Not since his Crocodile anyway.

Hook pulled out his brown leather water skin and some travel rations he'd packed away. He was parched and hungry after spending ten hours locked up in a giants treasure room. Standing again he paused and tilted his head after giving the bean stalk one last look-over, there was a sword mark there. Walking closer he bend down to examine the gash in the plants side as he wondered how it could have – The memory of Emma and the warrior…Mulan? Yes he was reasonably sure that was her name, flashed through his mind. He remembered Emma and Mulan talking before they'd started their ascent; and that the other woman hadn't exactly looked happy about something. At the time he'd thought it was because she didn't like the idea of Emma traveling alone with him, now however…

_Here's the Plan. We wait for the giant to fall asleep and when he does we sneak past him and into his cave. It's were the treasures are, where the compass lies._

_And then?_

_Then we run like hell._

_I don't have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep…_

_Let's get to it, the compass._

_What's your rush?_

…_How long do you think magic knockout powder lasts?_

_I've no clue._

_That's my rush._

He hummed thoughtfully, so she'd had a backup in case he decided to betray her. A time limit he hadn't known about. He was impressed because in all honest it would have worked. As it was, if the fight written in the dirt at his feet was any indication, she'd almost gotten herself stuck in her own trap, and she knew of the plan. He put this newest piece of the puzzle that was Emma Swan into place, and smiled at the picture in his mind. She was very much like him, always thinking two steps ahead and using any advantage to her benefit. He could honestly say it was a welcome change of pace; he so rarely met anyone who could meet or even, if he was honest, exceed him at a con. However, that didn't mean he'd let her win in the end.

About an hour later, Hook cursed colorfully as yet another root tried to take his feet out from under him. Growling in frustration he hit the offending tree and stomped on ahead, he hated the forest. Give him a storm on the sea any day over a walk through the woods at twilight. He swore that this forest was alive and trying to kill him, or at least kill his ankles. He snorted at the thought, who knew, perhaps that was the case. After all, he _was_ hunting down the great savior "Emma Swan" and her merry bunch of travelers. Sighing in frustration he was forced to slow his pace yet again or risk hurting himself in the dark. At this point he'd gone from a dead run to walking and it didn't sit well with him, not when he could feel the pull on his bracer getting further and further away. She and her group had covered a considerable amount of distance all things considered; he had to admit he was impressed.

But then she did seem to live to destroy his expectations of her, it was like she considered it a challenge. Though he did realize that thought was ridiculous. He doubted she cared at all about how he saw her, which also annoyed him greatly. He'd never met a woman before that he couldn't charm, married or otherwise. Eventually they all fell to his smiles, pretty words, and looks; even considering the hook. But not her. O no, of course, _never_ her. He'd though he'd won her over at the end there, before she'd chained him up. But much to his chagrin all she'd been doing was playing his pride against him.

That was his job.

"What in heaven's name is she _doing_?" he asked, his voice confused as it echoed in the empty forest around him.

He'd stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a strong steady pulse of energy from the bracer. It flowed through him; rejuvenating his muscles and making him feel like he'd just woken from a sound sleep. Before this is the energy had been a steady flow from her to him. However, this sudden increase meant that she was exerting herself, pushing herself harder then she had been. So there he stood staring on at the glowing leather and wondering how _anyone_ could be so _stubborn_. She had to have been really fighting the process and that put her in danger. He blew out a breath and it came out as more of a hiss as he moved forward again this time at a jog, his eyes straining in the growing dark. He needed catch up to her before she killed herself, and he lost his leverage to her obstinacy.

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A/N: So I hope I got Hook right. I'm basing his character here off of Colin's description of him, because well…as the actor he would know him best. ; P Also, Rapunzel215, I would love to take you up on that offer, but I can't seem to contact you. Send me a PM please! ^_^

Please Read and Review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The woman who had been Snow White for twenty nine years, then Mary Margaret for another twenty-eight, and who was now some strange amalgamation of the two, paced around their campsite. Both Mulan and Aurora watched her with concern, though neither said a word. The sound of the falling rain outside filled the cave they'd taken shelter in, making the atmosphere oppressive and hopeless.

"How could this have happened? What's wrong with her?" Snow asked for the fourth or fifth time since her daughter had collapsed and refused to wake. The other two women looked at one another and then back at the pacing royal. Every time they'd tried to talk up until this point she'd shut them down, claiming that she needed to think things through without distractions.

"She has a cut on her hand. Perhaps it is infected." Mulan carefully ventured, trying to get through to the panicked woman.

Snow paused, and then spun on her heel to look at them, "Aurora, tell me again what happened. As specifically as you can."

"I –I -" She stuttered for a moment nervous at suddenly having Snow's intense gaze focused solely on her. The feeling only lasted a moment before she shook herself and started again. She was a princess and that made her royalty, and she would not be intimidated. "I noticed that Emma had fallen behind, so I went back to make sure she was alright. She looked like she was having trouble walking straight and when I talked to her I noticed she was very pale. She looked sick to me, tired as well, but she wouldn't let me call for you. She knew you'd make her stop and she wanted to put more distance between us and Hook. I'm sorry Snow, I should have told you anyway."

Snow opened her mouth but quickly shut it again, incriminations and placing blame would do nothing to help her daughter. As it was, it was two against one and she couldn't afford to lose the few allies she had with her temper, no matter how much she felt the young girl deserved a tongue lashing. "It's alright, you stayed with her. That's what counts. Mulan, you've looked at the cut, do you honestly think it's infected?"

The warrior sighed and then looked sadly at the dark haired woman. "No, it doesn't. But the cut is still new. It might not be showing signs just yet. Or…"

"Or she was poisoned," Snow finished softly and moved to kneel beside her daughter. She rested a hand on the girl's forehead but didn't feel anything out of the ordinary so she looked at the hand. The cut there was deep enough to have bled but not terribly so. Already she could see it was starting to heal, and it didn't look infected. Pulling the wound closer so that she could see it better in the firelight she paused and sniffed. There was a strange sweet smell that reminded her of alcohol. Could this be what had made her daughter ill?

"What's that smell?" She turned to Mulan and the woman crouched down next to her. Taking Emma's hand the warrior looked it over and then she bit her lip in consideration.

"It smells like…It smells like the liquor that they made at the village." She said thoughtfully as she dropped the hand. "It was Hook, it had to have been. He must have had some and used it to treat the wound."

"So he did this, he poisoned her." Snow growled dangerously as she looked back at her daughter. She gripped the hilt of her sword and it took all the self control she had not to stand up and hunt the pirate down like a dog. She'd just found the daughter she'd been forced to lose, and now she was on the verge of losing her again. She'd barely gotten to know the sad, broken woman her baby had become and she'd be damned if she'd lose her now. There must be a way to stop this, she thought, some cure and if there was it resided with Hook.

"It looks like a sleeping curse to me." Aurora finally said, breaking Snow's concentration and thus her plotting to kill Hook in various unpleasant ways. Snow raised a questioning eyebrow and the younger woman continued her theory. "Think about it. Outside of the fact that she won't wake, there's nothing wrong with her. She has no fever or the signs usually present with poisoning. It has to be a sleeping curse."

"I would normally say you're right," Snow responded slowly. "However there's a problem with that theory. You said she seemed to gradually get sick. That's not a sleeping curse; those happen instantly."

"Well that's because you're right. It's not a sleeping curse."

0o00o0oo0o0o

Almost instantly, an arrow was leveled at Hook's head and he could see Mulan draw her sword. Standing just outside the cave entrance, the rain pouring down around him, he knew he looked like nothing more than a black shape in the dark to them. So he took a step forward with his arms held up in mock surrender.

Once his soaked form was illuminated by their small campfire, Snow White glared at him with an unwelcoming expression. He'd seen that look on many an opponent's face over the years, it was the look of someone who was trying to decide what they wanted more, his answers or his blood. "_Hook_, what have you _done_?"

"Me?" he replied, false innocence dripping from every word. "I haven't done a thing. Her own pigheadedness got her into _this_predicament."

"What did you _do_?" The dark haired woman asked again through clenched teeth. He could see the desire to kill him growing her eyes and he knew that her control dangled by a tenuous thread. A normal person would be terrified by her expression, and a cautious person wouldn't have pushed their luck; he was neither of those things. He was Captain Hook and he would be intimidated by no one, least of all this slip of a woman; a bow in her hands or not. So instead of explaining himself or trying to placate her he narrowed his eyes and sneered. In response her expression became darker and she drew her bow back even further.

Mulan, clearly sensing the growing tension, moved forward with her sword and it caught his attention instantly. Whether she intended to calm the situation or exacerbate it he had no idea, but he wasn't about to let her do either. He knew he would be able to, most likely, beat her in a duel. But he wasn't about to risk it, or waste more time. He was here to deal with the mother and daughter duo, the other two were nothing but problematic.

"I don't think so, girlie," he hissed, his voice dark as he pointed at the warrior. "Anything happens to me and your little 'savior' dies with me."

"What does that mean?" She replied both surprised and angered at the idea and the threat. He noticed the way her eyes seemed to be glowing in the fire light, and was very much reminded of a tiger. Snow, on the other hand, dropped her bow a fraction of an inch and her lips parted slightly in horror. Good, it looked like she was quick on the uptake. No cries of "You're lying, that's not true," to be had here. Her interactions with Cora's daughter had clearly taught her that when his kind made statement like that, they meant it.

"This links us together, if you kill _me_ then the one she's wearing will kill _her_," he said as he shook the loose sleeve of his shirt to make it reveal the leather around his wrist. "As it is, she's going to die… unless you let me help her of course."

The silence that followed his statement was deafening and he waited patiently as they digested the situation. Finally, the… _flowery one_spoke up, breaking the quiet. "What do you mean she'll die?"

He raised an eyebrow at the girl and had to bite back a sarcastic retort. Normally he liked to play with his victims, very much like a cat with a mouse. However, at the moment he was cold, tired and wet; a combination did not exactly put him in a gaming mood. So instead he opted to just explain the situation. He wanted to sit near that fire as soon as possible, after all. "The spell imbedded in her bracer drains the energy from her body and transfers it to mine. The more she walked, the further she got away from me, the more it took from her."

"Well, you're here now, so she should get better." Mulan said reasonably and Snow, who was clearly over her initial shock, simply watched him; not saying a word. If she was anything like her daughter, a fact that was almost too bizarre to think about, he had a feeling that she was plotting the best way to kill him without harming Emma. He was fine with that, he could handle her. Not too say she wasn't good, because she was. He was just better, and frankly, so was her daughter.

"No," he paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to best explain it. "The spell's… locked so to speak. It won't allow her to recover unless I… unlock it. Essentially she'll waste away, if her heart doesn't give out first. Thus defeating my purpose to begin with, so, if I may?"

"Your purpose?" Snow asked, her voice commanding. In that moment he could very much see the Queen she had once been, and in many ways still was.

In response he shrugged with a dashing smile, "Why, my plan to use your daughter's life as a bargaining chip to guarantee my passage to this Storybrooke of yours. I'd honestly hate to see what would happen if these lovely bracers were separated by dimensions."

They all looked at Snow, and after glaring at him for several long moments, she spoke again in measured tones. "Why do this and come after us? Why not go back to Cora?"

"Well, _your highnesses_, first of all you have the compass. If I went back to her without it, my reception would be, let's just say, less than pleasant. And secondly, I figure I have a better chance of actually getting there with you lot. You're all so noble after all… That and I don't trust Cora worth a damn."

"Noble? Emma left you imprisoned in the giant's castle, how can you still want to work with us?"

"True, however, even considering that you're still far safer company than the witch. Swan left me tied up for ten hours. She didn't kill me, didn't even attempt to. In fact, she made sure I was alright _before_she imprisoned me." Hook snorted and threw the unconscious blonde a quick considering look. Then looking back at her thoughtful mother, "Cora would have killed me no questions asked. And, hey, who said anything about trust? If I trusted you I wouldn't be using your daughter's life to buy your cooperation."

Snow sighed and looked away from him and at the cave wall for a moment before she relented with a regal nod of her head. She didn't see another option. Hook pursed his lips at the action, he was normally not one to kowtow to nobles, but if he wanted to keep his advantage he was going to have to just this once.

Without another word, he crossed the cave and crouched down next to Emma under the watchful eyes of her group. He took a moment to consider her unconscious form in the firelight. In sleep, with those defiant blue eyes closed, she didn't look all that impressive. She was beautiful to be sure, he'd never deny that, but she didn't look like someone who had the ability to best him. She looked fragile and soft; with the years of pain he saw written in her every expression missing. To be honest, she looked peaceful. But that peace was a lie, and he knew it. She wasn't weak and she certainly wasn't soft. She'd bested him, twice now, and before all this was said and done he had a feeling she'd probably do it again. She was good, _very_good, and if circumstances were different he probably would have offered her a place on his crew.

Mentally shaking himself, he took a deep breath to center his concentration and then lifted up her arm. Sliding his hand to her wrist he gripped the leather there and angled them so that her hand was resting on his bracer. Instantly the two items began to glow with a golden light and he heard a gasp from one of the women behind him. He ignored them and instead focused on making sure that her stolen energy was returned to her slowly, so as not to over-stress her heart and stop it. It took several minutes, but finally he sat back on his heels with a heavy breath. Not only had the process itself exhausted him; but now that her energy was gone he was starting to feel the aftereffects of his long journey here.

The second she realized he was done, Snow came and all but pushed him aside in an effort to check on her daughter. He was just able to keep his feet under him, preventing himself from sprawling out embarrassingly in the dirt, and growled at her. _A little thanks for saving the idiot's life would have been nice, but no of course not_, he thought to himself. It would seem that common courtesy was in short supply in that family.

It didn't take long for Snow to check Emma over and when she finished she turned back to him with accusing eyes. "She's not waking up!"

No, a thank you was definitely too much to ask it seemed. "_Of course not_, I gave her enough to break the lock and pull her out of danger. She'll be right as rain tomorrow. I'm not about to knock myself out to revive her; not with you three lovely ladies lurking about."

"I supposed we can expect no more," Mulan said, coming to stand near Snow before placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder. They shared a quick look before Snow relented with a frustrated sigh and stood, leaving her daughter to sleep in peace. Hook snorted and walked over to a section of wall that was nearest the entrance but still close enough to the fire that it warmed his soaked form. Then he leaned against it with his arms and legs crossed casually. He didn't feel quite safe enough to sit just yet.

"What kind of magic was that?" the flowery one asked as she looked back and forth between himself and Emma," I've never even heard of such a thing."

Hook raised an eyebrow at the comment, "You really have lived a sheltered life then, Princess."

"Well, I haven't heard of it either," Snow said crossing the space between them quickly. She stood before him with her arms folded and her stance defiant. He could see where Emma got her disposition from. "And trust me when I say Hook, I've lived anything but a sheltered life."

"So I've heard," he acknowledged with a bow of his head. Everyone had heard the stories of the great Snow White and her dashing Prince Charming. Especially when they traded with certain trans-dimensional, merchants who loved to hear themselves talk. "Perhaps they no longer use these here. I honestly don't know how long it's been since I was last in these lands. It's hard to keep track of time in Neverland."

"So what were they used for?"

"These were created towards the end of the Ogre Wars when desertion in the ranks became a serious problem," he said, launching into a brief history lesson. The sooner they understood the way the board was set, the sooner they would know their places in the game and then he could rest for the night. "Thus, it became a law that every new recruit was forced to wear one. So, if someone did decide to run these would stop them only a few miles away, and they could be brought back. No muss, no fuss and no injuries that prevented the soldier from being put back onto the front lines. I bought this spare set off a trader, interesting one he was, thought they might be useful someday. Turns out I was right."

"The Ogre Wars..." Snow paused and he could see her mind processing the information, most likely comparing it to the history lessons she would have had as a child. He tried not to smile the moment he knew she put all the pieces together and figured out what he wasn't saying. The look of utter rage and helplessness on her face was a beautiful thing.

"You put a _slave_ collar on my _daughter_?!" She hissed and, with a quick move, pulled a dagger from her belt and held it up against his throat. "Take it off NOW."

He was stunned, not having expected the action from her. But then he realized he probably should have; like mother like daughter. For a moment he was amused by her futile display of temper. However when he felt the metal actually nick his skin the anger came, and it rose up in him like a dark, living thing. Clearly he needed to explain the situation better. She was in no position to argue with him, let alone threaten him.

"Yea, and lucky for me I did," he all but snarled, and then leaned forward on the blade so that their eyes were only centimeters apart. He vaguely felt the sensation of blood running across skin as the blade sank deeper, and he could see the spark on fear in the woman's eyes. "Now get this thing away from me, and don't threaten me again. I don't take kindly to it."

"You think I care what you 'take kindly to?'" she shot back, after composing herself, her tone just as venomous.

"You should if you love your daughter," he said with a dark smile, his eyes a cold steely blue. "Because I could kill her right now if I wanted to. The bracer I'm wearing is the control, meaning I say the magic word, she dies. You kill me, she dies. Do you see how this works? Now. Get That. Away. From. Me."

Snow took a shuddering breath and quickly stepped away from him, dropping her weapon to the ground as she went. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't joking; he was more than willing to kill her daughter if she crossed him. Hook re-adjusted his shirt and took a moment to rein in his temper with a deep calming breath as he inspected the cut on his neck. He couldn't afford to act rashly out of anger, not when he was so close to his goal. So he was grateful that the warrior stepped forward and all but dragged the Queen away from him.

"Now that that's settled, I think we're done for the night," he said to all three before turning away and allowing himself to slide down the wall. He sprawled out comfortably at its base- as comfortable as he could get on the cold, damp ground in a cave in the middle of the woods. The other three gathered together on the other side of the fire and he watched them converse. They seemed to argue for a few moments more and it looked to him like they were trying to calm down Snow. Finally, it seemed to work and she moved to sit by her daughter's side, though she kept her bow at the ready.

"I'll take first watch," muttered Flowers and she moved to sit before the fire, while the warrior laid down on a bed roll. He nodded to her and then leaned his head back against the stone closing his eyes and settling in for the night.

All in all he'd say he'd had a pretty productive day.

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A/N: So, yea, I'm not going to sugar coat Hook's characterization at all for this. As a result the romance between these two is going to be slow going, don't worry though it will get there eventually…just not for a while. However, I promise next chapter will have lots of Emma/Killian. Then we go "Into the Deep" because YES! That episode works perfectly for my story!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to my beta Rapunzel215!**  
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**Chapter 4**

It was the sounds of people moving around that pulled her out of the inky blackness into which she didn't remember falling. With her eyes still closed, she brought her hand to her forehead and gently rubbed it while whimpering childishly. Her entire body ached and her pounding head made her feel like she had partied too hard the night before. Actually, now that her mind was beginning to clear, she could distinctly remember waking up like this quite a few times in her younger years.

"Good morning, darling." Emma froze and her eyes snapped open to the most disappointing sight she'd seen since first waking up in this land. There, leaning comfortably against the rock wall, sat Captain Hook in all his black toned and blinged-out glory; a wicked smirk on his lips. Unable or unwilling to come to terms with what she was seeing she simply lay there, staring at him. He couldn't be there, it was impossible; no way had he caught up to them already. Hook, now trying desperately not to laugh at her wide doe eyes, seemed to understand her state of mind, reaching over to poke her in the shoulder in order to prove that no, he wasn't a delusion and that, yes, this was really happening.

Instantly, Emma's latent survival instinct kicked in and she quickly scrambled to her feet and away from him. She stood there breathing heavily with her mouth agape, her face properly horrified. How had he caught up to her? How long had she been under that he could do so? And why was she still breathing now that he had?

He was smiling at her reaction now, and his eyes positively sparkled with amusement at her confusion and fear. There was also a hint of mischievousness about him that made something heavy settle in her stomach. He looked like a child that had just found a new toy and considering how she'd left him, she knew that look meant nothing good for her. "I know I'm handsome, but must you stare so? It's embarrassing."

"Hook," said a low voice to her left and she closed her mouth as Mary Margaret walked into her peripheral vision. The dark look in her eyes and the disgruntled frown on her face told Emma that she was anything but happy with the pirate's presence. "I said I'd tolerate you for Emma's sake. But that doesn't mean you have permission to torment her."

"Considering this conversation had nothing to do with you, I rather think what I do and say to Swan is none of your concern." Hook said as he eyed her with a smile that suddenly seemed less… playful and more dangerous. The shift in his demeanor confused her, because, now that it changed, she realized he'd been _teasing_her since she'd woken. But why? She'd left him tied up at the top of a beanstalk, why tease her instead of killing her?

Mary Margaret placed her hands on her hips, looking like she was gearing up for a fight. Hook seemed to be bracing for one as well, and he sat up straighter; a deep frown embedding itself on his forehead. Emma, completely at a loss, looked back and forth between the two of them. Clearly something had happened, and if she was reading the not-so-subtle signals that there was no love lost between them. "Ohh-kaaay … both of you, time-out. We get it, you don't like one another, but _this_? This isn't going to help. So will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on and what _the hell_he's doing here?"

Hook's eyes darkened as they flickered from her to Mary Margaret and with a slow, almost bored gesture, he raised his arm with the bracer on it. The move was clearly a threat and she stiffened in response, her breath catching in her throat. The three of them stood there, staring at one another for a moment more, before Mary Margaret turned away with an almost defeated sigh. "He should explain it to you, it's his grand plan."

"Gladly, love," Hook responded, throwing one last look at her friend's retreating back, before launching into a detailed explanation of what had happened to her, how he'd found her, and what it meant from here on in. When he was done, Emma simply stood there staring at him and he seemed to be taking great pleasure in her dismay.

In fact, she stood there for so long he began to wonder if he'd actually broken her, and the idea sent a thrill of excitement through him. He'd been able to leave the great Emma Swan speechless; now that was something to be proud of. Finally, due in no small part to the victorious smile on his face, she came back to herself, and with only one last comment thrown his way, stormed out of the cave.

"You're a bastard."

It was said simply, like she was commenting on the weather or a fact of life, and she nodded like she agreed with herself. He watched her go, stunned by the unexpected reaction. He'd expected yelling or crying. He'd expected her to possibly be shell shocked or despondent. Hell, he'd even expected her to try and hit him. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to essentially throw up her hands in frustration and walk away from him like he was an annoying child. He was so shocked in fact, that it took a good minute before he dissolved into a fit of delighted laughter.

It was a sound that followed her as she stormed away from the cave.

"Stupid, sarcastic, moronic, rum drinking, personal space invading, guy-liner wearing pirate!" She ranted as she stalked through the trees, kicking anything that was stupid enough to get in her path. She wanted to kill him, was _going_to kill him, but couldn't because that would apparently be committing suicide.

Emma, even in her rage, still had enough presence of mind to stop at a nearby brook once she was out of the cave's line of sight. Sighing, she moved to a boulder and slumped down on it, her arms folded and a petulant frown firmly in place. Given everything she'd been through in the last week or so she felt she was due for a good sulking session. A moment to just sit and process everything that had happened to her.

First of all, she'd watched the son she'd grown to love very much, sacrifice himself and 'die' for her. Then she'd found out that every one of the fairytale characters she'd read about as a child really did exist, and that she didn't just know them but was _related_to them. Then she'd finally found the parents she'd always searched for. They were amazing people who loved her and had sacrificed so much for her. Now she was trapped in an alternate reality with ogres, giants, witches and an annoying pirate who didn't know the meaning of subtlety.

Basically, it was both the best and worst week of her life.

While hunched over, she rested her chin on her upturned palm and looked at the leather wrapped around her left wrist. It seemed so innocuous, so normal, that it was hard to believe it had the power to kill her. Sitting up she started tugging on it, trying to see if she could slip it off over her hand if she angled it just right. Nothing seemed to work so, in a fit of temper, she began tugging on it forcefully. Whatever magic the leather was imbued with almost instantly reacted to her change in temperament and it quickly glowed before becoming white hot to the touch.

"Ah, fuck!" she yelled in pain and she shook her hand rapidly trying to dispel the burning sensation. She looked at her palm and instead of the third degree burns she expected, she saw nothing but perfectly unmarred skin. After staring at her hand she looked at her arm and carefully, very carefully, she moved the bracer and found the skin under it was unmarked as well. In fact now that she thought about it, it was her hand that had felt the pain, not the arm the band was attached too.

"I already told you, you can't get it off. Did I lie?" Emma stopped her examination and pursed her lips before turning to look at him.

There he stood, leaning against a tree in _the_ classic bad boy pose. He was like one giant pirate cliché _and_he was laughing at her. Well, he wasn't actually laughing at her, but if the look in his eyes was any indication he found her greatly amusing. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry and she wanted to throw things at his head. But none of that was going to help her, and all it would do was proved to him exactly how far under her skin he'd gotten. A reaction was exactly what he wanted so a reaction was exactly what he wouldn't get.

"No, you didn't; doesn't mean I can't at least try." She stood and brushed off the back of her pants before walking to stand in front of him, annoyed frown firmly in place.

He watched her, his demeanor and expression strangely calm, too calm. There was also darkness in his eyes as he looked at her and it made him seem almost sad or disappointed; but that was crazy. No, it had to be anger, tightly controlled and terrifying anger, there was simply no reason for him to be _disappointed_.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't be you unless you at least gave it a go," he said. "Tell me Swan, and be honest, did you actually think you'd get away from me?"

Emma wanted to respond quickly with an affirmative, but his expression stopped her. From the first moment they'd met she'd realized there was something different about him. It was in his eyes. A shadow that wasn't always there, but when it was it dulled the bright, playful blue, and his mask slipped slightly. Like now, for instance. It was there now, shining through, and it made her admit things to him that she never would to anyone else. Things like the fact that she'd been in love before. It wasn't a mystery to her though; she knew what it was. It was the same thing she'd seen in the mirror day after day as the world beat her down for twenty-eight years.

She saw herself in those eyes, and he was just as lonely, just as heartbroken, and just as jaded as she was. The best way she could describe it was that they were kindred spirits, and it made her want to trust him. It made her want to be truthful with him because she knew he'd understand, and that scared the hell out of her. Because he was Captain Hook, a villain, and she shouldn't trust or be truthful with him. Especially considering the bracer, and everything that had happened since then. But damn it, she did trust him, no matter how hard she tried not to. Even leaving him behind hadn't helped. So with a grumble at the back of her throat, she put her hands in the pockets of her coat and reluctantly answered him.

"No, I didn't…"

"But you had to at least try," he finished, and from his tone as well as the quick quirk of his lips, she knew that for whatever reason he seemed to admire her for it.

"You would have done the same, I just beat you to it," she replied, leaning back against the tree next to his, raising her eyebrows and daring him to disagree.

"Actually, no," he countered, and her stomach dropped at the look on his face and the tone of his voice. He was telling her the truth. But that didn't make sense given everything she knew about him. "I had no desire to or intention of betraying you and yours, and I think you know that. So why did you do it? Why risk becoming my enemy? You know my reputation."

Emma bit her lip and looked away from his accusing stare. She couldn't handle what she now realized _was_ anger but also a healthy dose of hurt and bitterness. She'd honestly hurt his feelings with her actions and that knowledge was unsettling. She didn't, as a rule, like to hurt people. Especially not those who'd helped her and thought of her as an ally. This all would be so much easier if he was the bastard she tried to make herself believe that he was. So, in an effort to delude herself, if even for a little while, she recited the same mantra she had been since she'd left him. "You _did_ lie to me, and you _were_planning to betray us."

Hook pushed himself off his tree, and came to stand near her; not close enough to touch, but close enough to crowd her. Then, placing his good hand against the tree next to her head, he bent down and leaned over her in an effort catch her eye. She had to force herself not to react as the salty smell of the sea and the sweet aroma of rum permeated her senses and wrapped around her. The two mixed together in a way that should have been illegal, and like the last time she'd been this close to him, it drew her in. Compound that with the way his body heat seemed to radiate through her leather jacket and she had to force herself to remain stationary.

He was trying to fluster her. He wanted her so focused on him, so lost in him, that she told him something she didn't want to. Okay, maybe he was also trying to get into her pants, but she got the distinct impression that's not what this was about. He was trying to provoke a response and prove something to both himself and to her. She would never deny that he was an insanely attractive man. Everything about him called out to her, from his blue eyes to the way he smiled at her when she did something he found entertaining. He was exactly her type; the dark haired, bright-eyed, flirtatious bad boy, with a devil-may-care attitude, and the ability to keep up with her. However, it would take more than sex appeal and charm to win her over and she _would not_to give into him. She couldn't afford to.

Emma bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to focus her hormone-laden mind as her heart raced in her ears. She needed to calm down her libido, or this conversation was going to take an interesting and much more physical turn. That was definitely something she didn't want for several reasons; not the least of which was that his ego couldn't handle being inflated any further. It was big enough as it was, and if she ever gave in to him she had a feeling it would reach critical mass and they'd all suffer. So she stood there, stiff as a board, her eyes fixed firmly on the forest before her, trying to pretend that his presence didn't affect her.

Her efforts seemed to be in vain, and she could see his slight smile out of the corner of her eye. Then he leaned in close to whisper to her and it sent a shiver down her spine as his warm breath ghosted across the shell of her ear. "You're right, I did. At first anyway, but plans changed. You know that. You can't tell me the man you met in that ruined village was the same man you left in that treasure room."

"Really? Hook, people don't change in the span of a few hours," she managed say around the lump in her throat, and she shifted her shoulders slightly, needing to move and dispel some of the growing tension in her body. The movement, unfortunately, had the opposite effect on her when her shoulder gently brushed his chest.

"You know what I meant Swan, don't play coy and stop avoiding my question," he said, his voice commanding and every bit the Captain he was purported to be."Running away doesn't suit you."

She clenched her fists tighter in her pockets as he reached up and started to play with her hair, the backs of his fingers grazing her cheek in a barely-there caress. It was too much, and she was forced to shift away from him as the cracks in her walls began to grow. She wanted to kiss him, and that would not happen. He made a humming sound that seemed to come from deep in his chest and she could have cursed as she realized her mistake. In moving away like she had she'd effectively lost that bout in this game. She'd showed him exactly how much his touch affected her. Emma, unwilling to answer the question he was asking, or admit defeat, did what she did best: she deflected.

"If you were so damn worthy of my trust then what was with the bracers? Because that seems pretty conniving to me," she shot back as she quickly glanced at him. His sea-blue eyes clashed with hers for less than a second but it was enough and she was forced to look away from him. His expression was now an attractive mix of frustration, amusement and lust fighting for dominance and it sent her self-control into a tailspin.

"A precaution, in case _you_ proved to be untrustworthy," he said and then chuckled quietly, though it wasn't a happy sound. His act dropped slightly and he was now markedly less flirtatious at the reminder of the fact that he'd _trusted_her, and she'd left him behind. "I'm glad I thought ahead."

"So, why didn't you say anything?" She asked, realizing that she might as well do so; in for a penny in for a pound. He was already upset. Maybe, if she played her cards right, this turn of the conversation could give her the advantage. "Why did you let me walk away like that?"

"You mean why I didn't stop you?" Hook shrugged, and then shifted toward her again, his act back in full force. This time he leaned his shoulder on the tree trunk next to her. Again, he wasn't touching her, but that heat was back and his eyes were firmly fixed on the profile of her face which only made it worse. "Well that was for two reasons: firstly, the magic didn't activate until you moved a certain distance from me. Had you not betrayed me and left me there I would have taken these off at the bottom and you would have been none-the-wiser."

Emma's eyes flickered to him and she could see the truth written on every line of his face. So this hadn't been the long term plan, just the backup. "Insurance policy… nice touch."

He smirked, "Not unlike telling your warrior friend to cut down the beanstalk after a set time. Dead clever that."

"I try," she responded a little breathy in the face of his praise. She was quickly reaching her breaking point.

Either she was going to grab and kiss him, or have to walk away completely. Both actions would lose her this game and prove to him that she was anything but indifferent. It was bad enough she'd moved away the first time, any other sign of weakness and he'd jump on it. She didn't want him to know he had any hold over her, because she knew his kind. He would use that power against her to get what he wanted.

Her eyes, almost involuntarily, moved back to his, and she felt her throat constrict at the intense gaze she found there. She would have drowned in those eyes if it wasn't for the pain of her nails biting into her palm. The sensation anchored her to reality and gave her the clarity she needed to continue her plan. Then, her voice still a little thread, she asked the question she already knew the answer to in an effort to change his demeanor. "You said there were two reasons. What was the second?"

"The second? Well," Hook leaned back and away from her now, and she felt the loss of his warmth acutely, although the logical part of her brain realized that this was a good thing, it was working, she was throwing him off. His tone then became what she would best describe as vindictive. "I _wanted_you to find out the hard way what happens when you cross me."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," she said, then she bit her lip and nodded her head in an exaggerated motion as she fought down her violent tendencies. Most of her lust evaporated quickly in the face of his now dark and angry expression. Gone was the dangerous flirt and in his place was the equally dangerous avenger, both were bad but at least she could properly deal with the avenger. Her plan worked, and that bout had gone to her, yet her success brought no sense of victory. "So what now? You know, outside of me wanting to take a bat to the side of your head."

"Why in heaven's name would you want to hit me with one of those winged creatures?" Hook asked, his tone incredulous. It completely shattered what was left of the intimidating aura he'd worked so hard to cultivate over the last few minutes, and his genuinely appalled expression almost sent her into a fit of hysterical laughter.

She'd won.

"Winged …" Emma open and closed her mouth several times; having no words to describe the image that was floating through her mind. "I meant a _baseball_bat, you know the wooden kind - oh never mind."

She gave up when her answer only seemed to confuse him further. He snorted with a raised eyebrow, and she got the distinct impression that he was wondering about her sanity. A comfortable silence descended on them. Well, as comfortable as is could be with him standing not three inches from her. For a second, just one, she thought that maybe she'd gotten away without having to explain her actions. She didn't want to tell him about Henry and she certainly wasn't going to tell him about Neal.

"I want an answer, Emma." The way he said her name sent shocks of nervous energy through her and she knew he wasn't going to let it go.

Turning to look him, she realized that he wasn't down and out just yet. Not that she expected he really would be. He was simply going on a different line of attack: the straight-forward kind. Gone was the flirt trying to seduce the answers out of her and gone was the evil pirate trying to intimidate her. He was simply Killian and he wanted to know why she'd left him behind. Whether he realized it or not this was the best thing he could have done; she couldn't say no to that shadow in his gaze. So, with a quiet curse, she weighed the pros and con of what he was asking.

The answer, one of them anyway, honestly couldn't make the situation she found herself in any worse. Cora already knew about Henry and so there was nothing she could tell him that would put her son if further danger if he turned on her. In actuality, that answer, could only help her when it came to him. If for no other reason than the fact that he knew what it was to love someone else. To care about their safety more than your own. The tattoo on his arm bearing Milah's name and his thirst for revenge on her behalf was proof of that. She wasn't naïve enough to think it would make him into an ally- he wasn't the noble type, but it might inspire him to step out of her way.

"I couldn't risk it because of Henry, my son." She shifted uncomfortably; she didn't like having to tell him anything about herself or her family situation. Especially when his eyes watched her like he was trying to see into her very soul and judge her honesty. "For reasons I'm not going to get into with you, I kinda share custody of him with Regina."

"Cora's daughter?" he asked, cutting her off, his eyes wide with surprise, and she nodded.

"Yup, and he is probably the only person, the only thing, that Regina loves and cares about. So if Cora gets to Storybrooke…"

"Your lad will be the first thing on her list, and he'll be in danger." Emma nodded again and Hook whistled lowly, his expression almost pitying. "Well…I suppose that's a decent reason."

"But good reason or no, I still screwed you over, right?" Emma looked down at her feet and waited for the other shoe to drop.

Hook looked her up and down thoughtfully, like he was weighing the situation in his mind. Then he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. For a long time they merely stared at one another but eventually he seemed to find whatever it was he was searching for in her eyes. "You're forgiven Swan, though I will not forget what happened."

"What does that mean?" Emma asked carefully, because she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"It _means_," he said exaggerating the word like he was speaking to young child. "That against my better judgment, I'm giving you a second chance."

The words were said simply, but she knew this was anything but simple. This was something that almost never happened and from the look of him she knew not to take this for granted. "Cross me again however, and you'll wish I'd let you die last night."

He was being truthful, everything about this moment was honest; from his forgiveness, to his threat. He was giving her a second chance to be in his good graces and work with him. Though she still had to wonder, when it came right down to it and Cora offered him the better deal, would he screw her over? Thinking about it, she came to the conclusion that he probably would. As she'd known before, he was far from noble and his revenge came first.

"Don't worry," she said after a moment, making sure to keep eye contact with him in an effort to impress her seriousness upon him. No, she couldn't trust him; but she could _use_ him. She could use him and his skills until he proved more trouble than he was worth. In that moment she wanted to warn him not to double cross _her_as well, but the fact that the most dangerous man around was no longer out for her blood had her biting her tongue. It was best not to push the issue when he was being so reasonable, all things considered. "It won't happen again."

He raised his eyebrows, the hint of a smirk breaking through his stoic expression. "Excellent. Now, we should get back to your loving mother before she comes looking for us."

Emma leaned away from him and looked around the tree, back towards the cave with a little frown. She was surprised Mary Margaret had left them alone this long, actually. So she nodded and the two of them began the short walk back to camp. Once they were back in Storybrooke they could go their separate ways. Emma would go back to her job as Sheriff and spending time with her family; and Hook could go seek vengeance against Gold to his heart's content.

_We made a deal sometime back Miss Swan. We established that you owed me a favor. _

Emma stumbled slightly as Gold's voice rang through her mind and she felt her heart jump into her throat at the memory. She noticed Hook glance at her, a question on his face, but she ignored him.

That's right; she owed that bastard a favor. Plus, now that she really thought about it, being Sheriff in general was going to put her smack dab in the middle of this blood feud. God damn it! She was going to have to play referee between those two idiots, she just knew it. This made the likelihood that she was going to cross him again all the more probable. In fact, she was most likely going to have to pick a side in this, but whose?

It all came down to who she _want__ed_to side with. Which wasn't a hard decision when she took more than a second to think about it: she wanted to side with Hook. Yes he was a bastard, yes he was conniving, and yes in a lot of ways he was completely unworthy of her loyalty. However, unlike Gold, he hadn't stolen a true love potion from her and effectively killed Henry. Hook also hadn't released a 'dementor' in Storybrooke, an act that had resulted in she and Mary Margaret being trapped in an alternate reality with a crazy witch that, again, put Henry's life in danger. All of that wasn't even counting the myriad of little things he'd done to her since she'd gotten to Storybrooke, and all the things she was sure he'd done but she didn't know about.

No, the worst Hook had done to her was to put the magical equivalent of a tracker on her that had made her a little sleepy, and she'd really brought that on herself. He hadn't been lying to her when he said he'd had every intention of taking it off when the job was done. If she had just trusted him and left that place as a team, none of the last half-day would have happened the way it did.

On the other hand, and she hated to admit this, Gold was not just a useful source of knowledge, but also of planning and skill. She'd figured out his game pretty quickly after the whole Sheriff election debacle. Gold was a man who loved to make himself _just_useful enough. So that when he did things, horrible things, you were willing to overlook them because in the long run you knew you'd eventually need him again.

In the end, they both had their pros and cons, and when looked at objectively, they were relatively balanced as far as who was better, given the situation. So it was time to look at this less objectively, namely who was she more fearful of angering, and the answer was undoubtedly Hook. He was a man with nothing to lose and no one to hold him back. Unlike Gold, who, if Emma was reading the situation right a week ago, had Regina to at least keep him in check a bit. Certainly, Henry being Regina's son would protect him from Gold to a degree that could not be said for Hook. No, if she sided with Gold over him, there was going to be hell to pay and she'd just handed her biggest weakness over to the pirate on a silver platter not five minutes ago.

"I owe him a favor," Emma said, making her decision and stopping once they were within sight of the cave. It took a moment for her words to reach him through his own musings, and he too stopped a couple of feet ahead of her.

"What?" he asked, turning back to face her. He seemed vaguely annoyed at her interruption of whatever scheme he was planning. Emma took a slightly shuddering breath; this could go one of two ways: he wouldn't care, or he'd be pissed. Either way she had to do this now before she lost her nerve.

"Gold…Rumplestiltskin, I own him a favor." Of all the reactions she'd been expecting, him simply staring at her hadn't been one of them. Finally she got fed up with his silence and started to head back again, pushing passing him quickly. "Just thought you should know, so you can keep me out of whatever revenge plots are running through your head. I _don't_want to get in the middle of that."

"Why?" He asked and it stopped her in her tracks.

Emma looked up into the sky and sighed, but didn't turn around. She really didn't want to know what he thought about all this. She didn't need to see the judgmental look she knew would be on his face. "There was a girl, Ashley; she made a deal with him. I don't know why but she said she'd give her baby to him once it was born. Only, when it came right down to it, she couldn't go through with it. She was young, stupid, and didn't deserve the situation she found herself in. So I said I'd owe him a favor if he forgot about the whole arrangement. This was before I knew who he really was, by the way."

"Noble of you," he said, though his tone suggested he was thinking of another word entirely.

"Screw you," she spat, throwing the words at him before continuing back to the cave. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn't ashamed of what she'd done. Well, at least now if it came right down to it and Gold called in his favor, (which in all honesty was likely to happen when Hook made it to Storybrooke,) she wouldn't have to deal with his vengeful fallout, because she'd given him fair warning and told him where she stood.

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A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long! I work retail so… "tis the season" and all that. -_- Plus I have a huge Christmas project I'm doing for my family. In conclusion the updates for this story are going to be slow until the turn of the year. Sorry! Please Read and Review to let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: *rises from the ground like Mushu* I LIVE! Now on to the story, I made this chapter extra long to make up for the long delay and as a thank you for all the amazing reviews I've been getting. A 15 page long thank you to be exact!

Special thanks to my amazing beta Rupunzel215! Who helped me out so much with this chapter.

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**Chapter 5**

The group spent the rest of the day hiking through the forest in an effort to keep Cora off their trail, as they thought of a plan. Emma spent much of that time throwing curious looks in Hook's direction, trying her best to determine what was going on inside of his head. After her announcement earlier, she hadn't known what to expect from him. She wouldn't have minded if he'd been distant with her, because at least then their relationship would have made sense. Wait, no, not their _relationship_, their _business arrangement_; because that's all this was, a business arrangement. They each had something the other wanted and they both wanted to get to the same place, nothing more.

Emma glanced at him again and bit her lip as she thought. The moment they'd gotten back she'd noticed a change in him. He no longer even attempted to wear the mask of the charming and flirty pirate. Not that there hadn't been brief moments where he'd thrown a smirk or a quip her way, but those were few and far between and only if they were away from the group. In fact, he'd outright refused to deal with the other three women at all. If he had a question or he wanted something he spoke to her, otherwise he walked a few paces ahead of her in silence. Actually, now that she thought about it from his perspective, it made a weird kind of sense. The rest of their party hated him, and he had to be on constant guard around them. But he had a deal with her, and he knew she wasn't about to try anything where he was concerned. She must have proven her 'loyalty' to him the moment she'd told him about the favor she owed Gold.

Which was both a good and a bad thing.

Good because it meant that while she might not trust him, he did hold some kind of trust for her. And bad because having him focus solely on her, without a buffer, did horrible things to her self-control. The amount of attraction she felt for him was bordering on the ridiculous and it needed to stop. He was not the guy to have a fling with, and he certainly wasn't the guy for a serious relationship. She knew how it would end; life had drilled that hard lesson into her years ago. It would be good for awhile and then, when he got bored, he'd leave her like everyone else, and she would go down in flames. It would be nothing but a repeat of her relationship with Neal, and she knew it. Hell he was Neal 2.0 and she refused to let that happen, not again, no matter how drawn to him she was.

Finally, as the sun began to set, and the light faded, they stopped for the night and set up camp. The clearing they chose was surrounded by large, tightly packed trees that would shelter them from both the elements and the sight of anyone passing by. Once finished, they all moved off to their separate tasks. Aurora, who hadn't been sleeping well, was the first to lie down and she quickly fell into a sound slumber. Then Mulan headed out into the woods to forage for some food, and Mary Margaret headed off to find water. That left Emma to 'guard' the camp with the still-pensive pirate and she decided to end this current bout of silence between them. They needed a strategy for getting home and not talking wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"You know, when men like you get this quiet for this long, I start to get worried," she said, walking over to stand near him with her arms folded.

"Know many men like me, do you Emma?" Killian looked up at her for the first time in what must have been hours, and the quirk of his eyebrow was almost incredulous. Thankfully, he looked more amused by her interruption of his thoughts than anything else, and she noted the way he fiddled with something attached to a necklace.

"I've meet my fair share," she snorted in derision, and he raised an eyebrow at her expression. "You're not as original as you'd like to think, Hook."

"My name is Killian, lass." corrected her, and she frowned at him. "You didn't have a problem saying it in the giant's castle when you left and yet, for some reason, we're back to Hook now."

"I felt it was warranted at the time," she said simply, ignoring the way her heart jumped into her throat at the piercing look in his eyes.

"And it's not now?" he asked, and she could tell he was frustrated with her attitude when all she gave him an indifferent shrug. After a brief search of her face he sighed and seemed to decide to move on. But she knew him well enough now to realize this conversation was going to come back up when she least expected it. "So do tell Swan, how would an innocent young girl such as yourself, come across such rough company so frequently?"

"Well that's rich coming from Captain 'I'm always a gentleman' Hook," Emma snorted at his attempt to wind her up. She then put her hands in the pockets of her jacket, relaxing slightly now that he was at least acting somewhat normal. He wasn't picking a fight exactly but his was trying to annoy her, and it made sense after she shut him down about his name. "In answer to your question, yes I have. You tend to come across the dregs of society when you work as a bounty hunter for five years."

He stopped his fiddling and sat up at little straighter, looking at her differently now. He seemed both impressed and intrigued by this latest tidbit about her past. "That wasn't something I was expecting."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot about this open book you don't know, Hook." She walked over to the tree across from him and slid down to the base. Then she made herself comfortable under his speculative gaze before continuing. "So, what exactly is your plan for Cora? Or is this one of those; step one: be sulky, step two: I don't know, step three: we go home kinda things?"

"I'm not sulky."

Emma rolled her eyes; this was one of his more frustrating habits. He'd pick one part of her question and ignore the part he didn't want to answer. She knew she had a tendency to do the same, but it didn't make the tactic any less irritating to deal with. She refused to go tit for tat with him, not over this. She needed to know what was going on, and exactly how prepared she should be.

"Stop it and answer the question," she said folding her arms again, her legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. "How are we going to get the wardrobe ashes from the most powerful person in this crazy-ass place and open a portal home?"

Hook eyed her for a moment before he reclined back against his tree as well. With one of his legs bent and the other outstretched before him, she was struck by the surreal knowledge that, sitting like this, they looked like two friends having a conversation. He definitely seemed more relaxed, and the knowledge that he felt he could act this way around her sent a tingle of warmth down her spine. It was a reaction she did her best to ignore.

"We're not," he said as he began to fiddle with the thing in his hand again, and she realized the action must have been unconscious, a nervous tick. Which meant she probably wasn't going to like what he had to say. "I've no idea how the magic's supposed to work, and I highly doubt any of you do either. That's why we need Cora to open the portal."

Emma's utter disbelief almost choked her, and it distracted her from asking about the strange habit. "Oh and she's just gonna … open it and then let us go through is she? Hook, that isn't a plan, it's an idea and not a very well thought out one. Please tell me there's more to it or we're screwed."

"Cynical," he drawled and made a tsking sound, dismissing her like she was a young child. "My plan will work."

Emma tilted her head, "Mm-hm, so where exactly are my group and I in this insane strategy of yours, O Great Mastermind?"

"Love, while I'm flattered that you think so highly of me," he teased with a boyish smile. In response Emma groaned and placed her head in her hands as she tried and failed to hide her amusement. "I must ask that you trust me."

"Trust you huh?" Emma responded dryly, dropping her hands and then very pointedly looking from her bracer to him and back. "Yeah, I'll get right on that."

In response he laughed, and she was instantly struck by the warmth in that sound. This wasn't the hollow, mocking sound she'd grown used to hearing from him and for a moment even he seemed surprised by it. Then he shook his head and opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off when the movement of his hand caught her attention again. "What are you doing, what is that?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Hook asked genuinely confused by the question.

"That," she nodded at his hand. He looked down at it and seemed surprised by the fact that he was even holding anything, let alone playing with it. Then she gasped in horror as he held the necklace before him, allowing her to see it clearly for the first time. "That's the giant's! How the hell did you get it?!"

His eyes snapped up to her and then he rolled them, "A pirate always takes reminders of their conquests. So I took this." Emma's eyebrows furrowed as both disgust and anger welled up inside her and he sighed in response. "I filched it off him when he let me go. I didn't kill him. I know that's what you were thinking, don't deny it. "

Emma pursed her lips, but didn't get a chance to respond because frantic yells of "Snow" cut through the stillness of the night. Instantly both of them were on their feet, back to back, with their swords drawn as they tried to pinpoint the source of the yelling. It took them less than half a second to locate the now awake and frantic young princess on the other side of the clearing. Quickly both of them moved to her side, though for entirely different reasons.

"Aurora, are you okay? What's wrong?" Emma asked as she tried to calm the panicked girl. Aurora didn't seem to hear her, and she continued to whimper and cry out as Mary Margaret came running out of the trees to also crouch down beside the young woman.

"Would you _shut her up_!" Hook hissed and Emma turned to glare at him as Aurora, shocked out of her panic by his outburst, breathed heavily trying to control herself. He returned Emma's glare with equal ferocity. "What? Do you want her to bring the ogres down on our heads?"

"It's okay, you're safe, it was just a nightmare," Mary Margaret said as she caught Emma's eye and then looked pointedly at Hook before turned back to Aurora, stroking her hair. The message was clear: _he seems to tolerate you so you deal with him_. Well, at least Mary Margaret seemed to have come to terms with the fact that she was an adult that could fight her own battles.

Emma rolled her eyes with a sigh before standing and rounding on him. His stance shifted and she could tell that he was prepared to fight with her over this. They would have fought over it, had Aurora's next sentence not frozen her cold. "No, this time was different. There was a little boy. He-he put out the fire, he talked to me."

"A little boy," Mary Margaret asked slowly, almost reluctantly. She and Emma both knew instinctively who the boy was. Emma watched as Hook's tense posture loosened and his eyebrows rose as he took in the expression of utter dread on her face. He looked back and forth between her and Aurora, and quickly grasped what her heart knew but her mind was screaming at her could not be true.

"What did he say?" Emma finally said getting the words out around the lump in her throat, still refusing to look at the younger woman.

"He said his name was Henry." The silence that followed the statement was impressive considering they were in the middle of a forest. Then, as soon as her brain started functioning again, Emma quickly rifled through her pockets, her movements jerky and panicked, searching for the one thing that could prove that this nightmare was indeed happening. Finally, ignoring the interested and slightly concerned gaze that Hook was sending her, she found it and spun to crouch down in front of the young princess.

"The boy you saw in your dream, is that him?!" Emma asked, doing a poor job controlling the panic in her voice as she held the picture in front of Aurora. Henry had given it too her two days before she'd broken the curse. He'd wanted her to put it in her wallet like all the other parents but at the time she hadn't had it. So she'd slipped it into the pocket of her jacket to be put away later. She'd almost completely forgotten about its existence in the insanity that followed.

Aurora took the small square and, after staring at in fascination for a moment, she looked back at them, "Yes, this is Henry."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Mary Margaret stood and walked away to the opposite side of the clearing. The action unintentionally left Emma alone to deal with this latest horror and she felt the loss of support acutely. Almost as soon as the emotion came she pushed it away; her issues were not what was important at the moment, not by a long shot. "That's impossible, it was a dream. How could you dream about my son?"

Aurora looked both confused and sympathetic. "I have no idea."

"Maybe it wasn't a dream," Mary Margaret said, answering for the princess. She stood a few feet away and Hook stood slightly behind her, watching the proceedings with an unreadable expression. A part of her wanted to know what he was thinking, and how this conversation was being worked into his plans. But a large more incessant part wanted to know what the hell her friend was talking about.

"What?" Emma hissed, standing to face her. The idea that Aurora could be dreaming about her son was panic inducing enough, the concept that it might not actually be a dream at all was flat-out terrifying.

"That room," Mary Margaret hesitated, before taking a deep breath and continuing. If Emma hadn't been so upset she might have felt bad about forcing the other woman to relive a clearly traumatic experience. "I've been there."

Aurora's reaction was instant, and angry, "When I told you about it, you didn't say anything."

"You were terrified," Mary Margaret tried to reason. "I didn't want to make things worse by telling you I thought it might be real."

"A room in a dream is real?" Mulan asked, and Emma wasn't quite sure when she'd gotten there but it was clear she didn't believe such a thing was even remotely possible.

"I've heard of stranger things," Hook said finally speaking up, and Emma looked over at him to find that he was watching her. There was something about the fascinated look on his face that put her on edge. "Is there something that might link them together?"

"The sleeping curse." Mary Margaret answered, almost reluctantly, after a brief glance in his direction. "It has to be, I went through it, Aurora went through it-"

"Henry's been through it, because I wouldn't believe him." Emma said, and she could feel the beginnings of tears in her eyes as her heart sank. This was all her fault. Her ten year old son was living in a burning hellish nightmare night after night, and it was all her fault. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hook take a small step towards her but didn't know or care why. He was probably ecstatic about all the new information he was going to be able to use against her at some point.

"Emma…" her friend breathed sympathetically. Mary Margaret moved as if to comfort her, but Aurora beat her to it and pushed past Emma to confront the dark-haired woman.

"What else did you lie about?" she snapped, and it was clear that she was thinking about more than just the dream. Emma realized distantly that she was probably thinking about what had happened to Philip, though she couldn't bring herself to actively care about the younger girl's loss, not when Henry was in danger.

"I-I wasn't lying. I was protecting you," Mary Margaret replied defensively. Emma couldn't say she blamed her for bending the truth. The last thing they needed was for Aurora to have been exhausted and useless because she was afraid to sleep.

"What did he say, Henry, in the dream?" Emma asked trying to refocus the conversation onto what was important, at least important to her.

"He just said his name, and then I woke up. I'm sorry," Aurora replied after a moment's hesitation and she seemed genuinely sorry that she couldn't help further.

"Emma," Mary Margaret said as she moved to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

"We are _so_ far from okay!" she snapped back, her eyes flashing angrily as she knocked the woman's hand away. How could she even think that let alone say it? Henry was in danger six ways to Sunday and she was stuck in the middle of the freaking Enchanted Forest with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mulan, and Captain Fucking Hook. She was not where she _needed_ to be, and definitely not where she _wanted_ to be. She was letting him down, just like she always knew she would. _This _was why she'd given him up! She was crap at this parenting thing, and this situation, right here, was just proving it to her.

"No," Mary Margaret replied, trying again as she took a step back and out of hitting range. If Emma hadn't been so lost in her own anger and self-hatred she probably would have notice how everyone _but _Hook shifted away from her. "We have a way home now."

"We have a compass," Mulan sighed, and Emma's gaze switched to her and she could see that the warrior, if no one else seemed to agree with her that this situation was not okay. "The wardrobe ashes are still with Cora."

"I concur. I'm not seeing how this information, as fascinating as it is, changes things. Cora is still out there, and still very dangerous." Emma's glare slid to him and he cocked an eyebrow at the look, more interested than intimidated by her fury. His reaction confused her, but most of all it calmed her. She realized she was making a spectacle of herself and giving him way too much information about which of her buttons to push and how to push them. He knew how to read between her lines better than anyone she'd ever met.

"Not anymore," Mary Margaret said, glancing quickly back and forth between them. She'd noted the way Emma's demeanor had changed as she looked at him and seemed unsure as to what it meant. "We can stop her."

"How?" Emma asked looking away from his searching blue eyes to her friend's again, now not _calm _but defiantly collected.

"I don't know, but I know someone who does: Rumplestiltskin. He'll know a way." The second the words were out of Mary Margaret's mouth Emma knew there was going to be trouble, and she was right. Hook was so focused on watching her that it took take him a moment to register what her friend had said; but when it did he stiffened and the very air around them seemed to turn cold.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard that," he said carefully with an unpleasant sneer on his lips as he moved forward to join them. Emma felt the last of her anger disappear as a shudder ran through her. This wasn't the same kind of panic that had driven her moments ago; it was more controlled and more primal than that. This wasn't emotional, it was physical. The kind of fear ingrained in a person's very bones; the fear of being in the presence of a large, very angry, and very powerful predator. Mulan placed her hand on her sword hilt as Aurora moved behind Emma, away from the pirate, and Mary Margaret stepped back a few paces under his glare. This left Emma, the only one thinking rationally it seemed, to find a way to diffuse the powder keg that was Hook at the moment.

"H-Hook," Mary Margaret said stuttering at first and then pressing forward after a deep breath. She was a queen, after all, and refused to be intimidated by anyone. Emma wanted to grab the woman, pull her away and shake some sense into her. Right now he was not in the frame of mind to be reasoned with, especially when the person doing the reasoning was someone he didn't particularly like. Emma bit her lip, thinking fast as the way Hook tilted his head reminded her very much of a wolf eyeing something it found interesting. "I know you have a vendetta against him but it's our best chance!"

The Queen was stunned into silence again by the unholy light she saw appear in the pirate's gaze in response to her words. He continued to stare and Emma was afraid he'd actually attempt physical harm against her. But thankfully all he did was lean forward and respond, his voice a deadly calm. "I refuse to work with that demonic son of a bitch. We find another way."

His tightly controlled rage was truly something to behold, and disturbingly enough Emma found herself drawn to him even now. He may be virtually threatening their lives, but he looked damn sexy doing it. She, shocked by her own strange thoughts, shook her head, crossed the distance between them, and grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him away before he did bodily harm, something she could see him doing very easily at the moment.

Instantly that malevolent look was transferred to her and in response Emma tilted her head, narrowed her eyes, and pulled at his shoulder again. She wanted to talk to him and there were things she knew he didn't want _them_to know. He seemed to get the message, and with one more spiteful glare he allowed himself to be pulled away. Thinking quickly, Emma tried to come up with the best way to sell this idea to him. They needed Gold's help in this, and she couldn't allow his vendetta to get in the way of her ride home.

"Listen Hook," she said once they were out of earshot of the others; her voice as calm as she could make it under the circumstances. She noticed the way his shoulders sagged in relief, if only slightly, now that they were alone again. She hoped that meant he was really listening to her. "Gold may be a bastard but he's also really good at the magical know-how."

"I am _well _aware of his abilities," Hook snorted and his slight hesitation before speaking told her there was more to this than what he was saying. "I know them better than most."

"Well good," she said, and frowned at his demeanor. He seemed more tired and frustrated then angry, when not five seconds ago she'd thought he was going to completely lose it and kill them all. "So you also realize that if anyone knows about a way to defeat Cora, it would be him. Plus, I think it's a little bit of poetic justice that he's unwittingly helping the man who wants to kill him get to Storybrooke, don't you?"

Hook was nonplussed at the idea. "He's the one that made Cora into what she is, Emma. Working with him will do none of us any good. I _will_ _not_work with him."

Emma filed that tidbit away for later analysis and closed the distance between them. She made a split decision and gave up on reasoning with someone who was clearly unreasonable. It was time to force him to listen. So, with as much force as possible, she grabbed the lapels of his shirt and roughly pulled his face to hers. He was so surprised by the action that it actually worked and she saw something in his eyes shift as she growled at him. "Listen. I'm not saying we _work_ with him. I'm saying we _use _him and his knowledge. Don't get me wrong Hook; I don't like the guy anymore than you do. The last time two times I got pulled into his bullshit my son almost died and I ended up stuck here!"

She watched as his brow twitched at the new information and she figured that her revealing her debt to Gold suddenly made even more sense to him. So she decided to comment on it, to let him know that while she might be an open book to him, it was definitely a two way street. "That's exactly why I don't want to speak to the man again, let alone ask him for anything."

"Yet you would _still _seek his help?" he asked, his voice quieter but still defiant. He moved forward, and the action was probably supposed to be intimidating but, as the tips of their noses brushed in a barely-there Eskimo kiss, her mind quickly moved in an entirely different direction. Emma felt her breath catch as slow fire moved through her veins and the sudden urge to close those scant few inches between them almost overpowered her. For a scary half second, as the warmth of his breath ghosted over her lips and his salty sweet scent invaded her senses, it seemed like a genuinely good idea to kiss him.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind she let him go like she'd been burned, and would have stepped back had he not grabbed her arm and held her in place. She knew instantly she had let go of him too late, and that he'd seen her momentary lapse in control. Now he wasn't willing to let her walk away, not this time. She looked from the hand on her arm to his face and was captured by twin pools of unfathomable blue. She watched them darken as he stared at her, and felt the warmth of his hand slide up her arm to her neck leaving a trail of sparks in its wake. She knew she should be moving, she knew she should be pushing him away, but she found that she was completely unable to find the will to do what she should. Slowly, almost languidly, his fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck and his thumb gently stroked her jaw line as his eyes dropped to her lips. Her mouth opened slightly and her heart sped up as he moved in to close the distance between them. He was going to kiss her, and when he did she would be lost.

Instantly, she crashed back to reality as her self-preservation instinct kicked in and she forcefully knocked his hand away before she back-peddled. The action stunned him and his momentary pause gave her the time she needed to collect herself and reinforce her shields. Still staring straight ahead he took a deep, frustrated breath through his nose and stood up straight before looking at her. Then a determined light entered his eyes, and he took a step toward her, so she quickly deflected by answering his earlier question. She wouldn't let him corner her again, because she knew if he did right now she was going to break. Her emotions were too close to the surface and he was too far under her skin.

"Of course I would. I'd do anything to protect Henry from Cora," she said, her voice growing stronger with each word and it stopped his advance on her. His eyes were incredulous, but that look of determination was still there and she saw the way he clenched his jaw before his expression became flat and neutral again.

"Really now? Anything?" He asked, his voice flat and guarded. She shifted forward again, but only slightly. She was trying to threaten him, not initiate another moment like the one they'd just had. In hindsight, grabbing him that way had been a bone-headed move; _of course _he would turn it into something it wasn't. In response, he leaned back from the dangerous look in her eye, all thoughts of even attempting to kiss her gone. It was the instinctive reaction of any trained warrior who was facing a dangerous opponent, he was getting better footing.

"Don't get in the way Hook; it's not a good place to stand." From almost kissing to making death threats in less than a minute, that had to be some kind of record for her. He watched her for awhile and she could tell that he was weighing the pros and cons of the situation in his mind.

Finally, he sighed and shook his head, "Do as you will, but know that I will not help you in this."

"Fair enough," Emma said, nodding; she wouldn't want his help with this anyway. Then she turned away to head back to camp, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she went. She was thrilled that she could get even this much of a compromise out of him. Truthfully, at the moment, she didn't care what he did, as long as he wasn't actively trying to be in the way, or trying to kiss her, they were good.

"Your son is a very lucky lad to have such a good mother," he called after her and the quiet words stopped her in her tracks. Everything that had happened, every choice she'd made, since the moment she'd met Neal flashed through her head in an instant.

"No. I'm not," she sighed, throwing the words over her shoulder without thinking and continued to walk away. She didn't look back to see what he thought of that, she didn't need to, it was the truth after all.

O0ooo00o0oo

"But what if-" Emma started again and was quickly cut off by her frustrated mother telling her not to worry. Hook had to bite his lip to hold back his amusement at her antics; she was adorable this way and he didn't use words like adorable often. But alas, there was no better word to describe how he saw her at this moment.

Climbing over a fallen tree, he shook himself both mentally and physically. He needed to stop this; it was getting ridiculous. The amount of time he spent thinking about her and analyzing her was really starting to concern him. It was true that Emma Swan was a beautiful woman, and it was also true that he wanted her; he had from the moment he laid eyes on her. He loved a challenge, and Emma was a challenge wrapped in a puzzle. The combination drew him in like nothing else, and from the moment she'd figured out why he wanted to kill Rumplestiltskin he'd irrevocably switched sides in this game. She'd told him about her lost love and he'd seen in her the same loss he felt daily. She understood him in a way no one ever had, save Milah, and that was a notion he definitely didn't want to consider in the slightest. Not only could he not afford to think about such things, he didn't want to. He wasn't interested in weakness at the moment and that's all she'd be, a weakness and a distraction.

Then there was the fact that she clearly _still_ didn't trust him worth a damn, and while he found it intelligent of her, it was also trying. At this point he wanted her trust, not to use it against her like he'd original planned, but simply because he _wanted _it. He wanted her as an ally for all he didn't want to entertain certain … ideas about her. Yes, she'd told him about Rumpelstiltskin, but only a fool would think she'd told him because she trusted him, and he was no fool. She'd wanted him to know how the board was set so that he wouldn't turn on her, because she was still convinced he would. So that he wouldn't, as she so aptly put it 'include her in his plans' which was something he had no intention of doing in the first place. The idea that she owed that demon a favor ignited a slow burning rage in the pit of stomach, and the last thing he wanted was for her to be anywhere near the bastard. Really, if he had his way the two would never see one another again.

Hook wondered as he watched her march ahead of him with her head held high, what or rather who had caused her to build such strong walls around herself. Was it the love she thought she once had, who'd hurt her? Had _he _been the one to break her so irrevocably that those defenses were, given her reaction last night, an instinctual default now? Even her own mother couldn't get beyond them. He wasn't blind; he saw the way she interacted with the older woman, and the distance there. Honestly, after last night, it would seem that the only person to have breached those walls was her son and, though it was utterly ludicrous, he couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of the lad. Then again…

_Your son is a very lucky lad to have such a good mother_

_No, I'm not._

Hook rubbed his forehead roughly with a quiet growl. There he went again, analyzing the woman. This needed to stop! He shook his head and looked away from her back to scowl at the trees around them. She was in his head, especially after their almost kiss, and after seeing exactly how much she wanted him. It was taking vast amounts of his self-control not to walk right up to her and simply take her. Killian Jones was not a man to deny himself the things he wanted. To be honest, the only reason he hadn't at this point was because he didn't want to jeopardize their partnership by pushing her too hard. He needed her trust if his plan was going to succeed, and he knew he'd lose what ground he'd gained if he pushed. Emma was slippery like that, and again he wondered who had broken her. He also wondered if that person was in this Storybrooke so that he could punch them for his troubles.

"We can stop on that rise over there," Snow said from ahead of him and her voice pulled him out of his own head. He nodded, to acknowledge that he'd heard her, but didn't say a word. He had no cause to, the only one here worth his breath was Emma and at the moment she wasn't doing much outside of fretting over her son. He ground his teeth and began to fiddle with his hook; he did not like this plan, not even a little. But Emma was determined and she cared little about his feelings on the matter so he found himself without many options.

It was about an hour later, after they'd set up camp, that Hook finally had enough of sitting and staring at trees. Emma was still too busy pacing back and forth ignoring everyone, including himself, and he was intolerably bored. So he stood up and with a brief comment to Snow, who watched him with no small amount of suspicion, he headed to a small nearby stream to fill his water skein.

"My dear Captain, it seems you have been busy." Hook groaned quietly and capped the water skin as he turned to see Cora standing off to the side of the stream. He had been hoping that he had just a little longer to set his plan into motion before she showed up. As it was, her expression told him he was going to have to do some serious fast-talking to stay in her good graces.

"Hello Cora, lovely to see you again," he said, his coy smile firmly in place as he fought the instinct to run in the opposite direction, and instead sauntered over to her.

She was unimpressed by his charm, not that it was all that surprising. "Where's the compass?"

"Aha, yes that," he said, having to fight to keep his mask in place. "I'm in the process of obtaining it actually. I just need more time to enact my plan; the details are a bit of a bore. But rest assured I'll bring it to you."

"Really," she chuckled, and the look of disbelief on her face told him his charm offensive was failing badly. "Stealing my protection spell and climbing the … _beanstalk _without me might seem a bit of a bore to you. But to me, it's a betrayal."

Hook wanted to laugh outright at that statement, and the way her voice caught on the very idea of climbing the beanstalk. No, if he hadn't gone to Emma and her little group he would have been climbing that bloody plant and dealing with the giant all on his own. This was why Emma had turned on him, because even though it had been the truth, he himself hadn't believed it, so neither had she. Pushing his bitterness aside at the idea, he tried to calm the situation. "I was going to bring it to you. Our agreement remains, we are going to Storybrooke together. I'll get the trinket."

"And _what _exactly are you waiting for?" She took two steps forward and he felt his breath catch in his throat as a tremor passed through him and he could feel a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. Cora was not a woman to be underestimated or taken lightly; only a fool wouldn't be terrified of her and she had taught him that lesson well in Wonderland. "You've been back with them for over a day and a half now. If you were honestly working with me you would have it, why do you not?"

"It's part of my plan, a bit of a divide and conquer. Once I'm done they won't be a problem anymore," he said reasonably, "Then you can open the portal without the threat of them intervening."

"They weren't a problem to begin with," Cora sighed; she seemed both disappointed and frustrated. "I don't have time for your games. I've crossed through too many worlds to be stopped at the brink of success. What makes you think you can separate them to begin with? I know Snow White; she'd never allow that to happen."

"The Swan girl – Emma," he said correcting himself without thinking and then quickly moved to explain away the mistake when he noticed her eyes widen. He want to hit himself, how could he have slipped like that. Fear was no excuse, "She trusts me, I can use that. I still have to pay her back in kind for her double cross."

"Ah, petty revenge is that what this is really about?" She chuckled and he knew she didn't believe a word of it. Then she tilted her head and eyed him like she saw something. "You chose her, and the consequences of that decision."

"Oh," he breathed, his head moving back slightly. If there was one thing he hated it was being threatened. "Are you going to kill me now? Go ahead. _Try_."

"So brave," Cora shifted her shoulders and smiled at him like she found him arousing. It made his skin crawl, "No, I'm not going to kill you. I have something far more satisfying in mind. I'm going to leave you here, with your thirst for revenge unquenched; while I continue our journey without you."

"There's no need to be rash," he managed to say around the lump in his throat, he had been afraid of this. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. So with as much charm as possible he moved forward. "We can…discuss this."

"Your pretty face buys you a lot," she said with a smile, then her face turned dark. "But not my time, it's too valuable."

"I can do this, you need me," he tried desperately. He needed her to open the portal and in order for his plan to work he had to be there when she did. "You shouldn't underestimate them, this plan will work."

"_I_ don't need _you _Captain," she laughed, and it was then that he heard a yell of 'Emma look out' coming from behind him, back from the camp. Spinning around he looked in that direction, through the trees as angry self-deprecation ran through his mind. Of course this had been a setup! Cora would never have come to him, come so close to getting the compass, only to taunt him. She would wait for the perfect opportunity and there wasn't a chance they wouldn't think he had something to do with this, especially Emma. Apparently Cora favored divide and conquer as well. "You had your chance, now it's my turn to do this the right way."

He spun back to look at her, fury etched on every line of his face. He'd worked hard for what little trust Emma had given him, damn it! Now the witch was breaking their agreement and the girls weren't a viable option. "Cora, you cannot leave me here!"

"Oh, but I can," she said as she continued to laugh at him. In a fit of rage he ran at her and tried to skewer her with his hook. The attempt ended how he thought it would, with her disappearing and him face down in the dirt. He lay there for a moment as his plans crumbled around him and he felt a feeling he hadn't since Milah's death: crushing defeat.

Hook only allowed himself to wallow there for a moment before he punched the dirt and pushed himself back up. Standing there, he looked back in the direction of the camp and he could still hear the sounds of fighting. Rolling his eyes, he growled and turned in the opposite direction, he knew where he needed to go. It was time for Plan B. He needed to salvage this mess as best he could; he refused to lose his ride to Storybrooke.

No matter who it was with.

* * *

I give you Emma/Killian, and then I take it away. It's kinda my thing. Anyway, this chapter took forever and I re-wrote it like three times. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I know that if I let myself I'll work on it forever and still not be entirely happy.

Please R&R They make me happy and give you longer chapters!


	6. Chapter 6

Specials thanks to my beta amazing Rapunzel215!

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**Chapter 6**

Emma sighed deeply as she played with a twig and leaned against a log across from Mary Margaret's sleeping form. It hadn't been long, a few minutes at most, since Mulan had dosed the dark haired woman with sleeping powder and gone off to patrol the perimeter. But even a few minutes was long enough for her subconscious to start pestering her about things she really didn't want to think about. Emma rolled her shoulder as she tried to stave off the inevitable and work out a kink in her neck from the night before. It was never more apparent to her, than it was now, that she was very much a spoiled child of the modern era. The other three, four if she was counting Hook, seemed to have no problems or side effects from sleeping on the cold hard ground. Even Aurora seemed to adapt well enough to the concept, but not her, she definitely couldn't handle it. Even having slept in a car for long stretches of time hadn't prepared her for this life; because at least car seats had cushioning. Thankfully it seemed like she wouldn't have to spend another night away from her bed, and her shower, if this plan worked and Mary Margaret could talk to David.

Emma's fidgeting slowed as her mind finally came back to the thing she'd been avoiding for a while now and she looked up at her sleeping…mother. Emma took a deep breath as she allowed that thought to settle in her mind. This wasn't the first time she'd realized this fact but it was the first time, outside of a brief moment in what would have been her nursery, that she didn't run from it. This woman was her _mother_, not just her friend. She was her mother and her name was Snow White, not Mary Margaret.

Emma let the breath go, and centered her mind. She needed to stop running from this because it wasn't going to change. She'd been running for almost a week now and all it she was doing was hurting Snow, and herself if she was honest. No one in her life had ever loved her the way Snow did; so unconditionally and so fiercely. It was new and it was terrifying because love had only ever hurt her. She was afraid that once she let Snow in she'd disappear on her and then she'd be left to pick up the pieces. But that mindset was ridiculous now, given everything they'd gone through, and she need to stop thinking that way. She didn't want to lose anymore time because she was too afraid to open up.

She also had to come to terms with this before they got home because she knew how Henry felt about this whole situation. She knew how much his grandparents meant to him, what it all meant to him, and if he saw her self-imposed distance it would hurt him. Then of course there was David, her father. Emma snorted and she snapped the twig in two before throwing it away; that was strange to think about. The David she knew was a far cry from the brave, selfless man she'd seen in her vision after touching the book. The one that had fought guards while holding her and almost died to make sure she made it to safety. It was just another thing she was going to have to get used to in this new life she found herself in.

_Snow white is my mother. Snow White is my mother_. Emma chanted quietly to herself pressing that fact upon her subconscious as she watched the other woman sleep. Finally a feeling of acceptance crept into her mind and a small smile curled her lips. She chuckled slightly as an old memory came back to her, she did have her mother's chin.

Absent mindedly she rubbed at her bracer which had started to itch as the day grew hotter and the skin under the leather became clammy. Heat and leather do not a comfortable combination make, and she pursed her lips as she glared petulantly at the offending item. That was another thing she might as well accept while she was in an agreeable frame of mind.

Hook was not _as_ _bad _as she tried to make him out to be.

_And here's the hard part, _she thought to herself._ He isn't…Neal_.

Emma closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose as she focused on that fact. Hook, _wasn't_ Neal and she need to stop comparing them because it wasn't fair to him. It was just that both men shared a lot of similarities. Those traits, and her strange need to trust him, woke old memories and feelings she'd tried so hard to bury, to forget. His very presence had ripped open wounds that had never healed and all the pain Neal had caused came back with a vengeance as they'd searched the giant's treasure room. He understood her, could see her, better than anyone she'd ever met and it was terrifying. So she'd done the only thing she could think of at the time, she'd run screaming behind her walls and completely shut him out. She'd wanted to trust him, she _liked _him, and that just wouldn't do because all she could see at the time was how alike they were. Looking back she now realized that leaving him behind had been more an act of emotional self preservation than anything else. She'd been saving herself, or at least that's what she'd continued to tell herself since that moment. But then he'd come back and everything he'd done and said since, his forgiveness for her betrayal, and his honest desire for her trust had created cracks in her walls she couldn't fix. There was steadfastness in him, a fighting spirit, that she couldn't ever remember having ever seen in Neal. Something told her that even if the chips were down Hook would never give up on something he wanted, no matter the personal sacrifice. He was the go down swinging type and honestly that was exactly the kind of person she needed on her side at the moment. Emma chuckled slightly and rubbed her forehead as the revelation hit her; the tricky bastard had already won. Her heart trusted him, and now her head was starting to fall into line; because even though he wasn't present to do it personally, he was currently proving to her that he was more than worthy of it.

She rubbed the bracer again; with it on, it was impossible for her not to trust him. Because, if he'd betrayed them, he would have used it. He would have incapacitated her at the camp or, at this point, told the 'zombies' where to find them. He knew where they were and that they weren't moving, the magic would have told him as much, and yet nothing had happened and no one was coming. On top of that she hadn't felt the same draining effects she had the night she tried to get away from him; which meant he was making sure the magic didn't affect her. Where ever he was, and whatever he was doing, he wasn't working against them. Her current theory, given their conversation the night before, was that he was taking advantage of the situation. Pretending to work with Cora just long enough for her to open the portal. It was a dangerous game he was playing and she wished he'd run it by her before running off half cocked. But sadly they were victims of circumstance and when they'd last spoken he trusted her with information just about as much as she trusted him. All she could do now was try to help by getting the weapon Gold said would stop her. Until then she had to…trust that he knew what he was doing and that he wouldn't get himself killed in the process.

0o000oo0oo0

Hook sighed in frustration as he felt the tell tale pull on his arm and raised it to his lips. Quietly, so as not to alert any of Cora's minions nearby, he muttered the correct incantation. Briefly the bracer glowed a pale gold before becoming dormant, the radius of the spell expanding yet again. The bloody things were becoming more of a hassle than they were worth at this point. But beggars couldn't be choosers and at least he knew where all the players on this chess board were, relatively speaking of course.

Using the damaged building to his advantage Hook slipped like a shadow into the village he'd lived in for several months under the guise of a blacksmith. He frowned disapprovingly at the desolate landscape that had once housed so many. A pirate he may be but even he wasn't as actively ruthless and destructive as Cora. Oh sure, he'd kill a man in self–defense or for a purpose such as his vengeance; but wanton murder for the sake of murder was not really his taste or his style. It rubbed him the wrong way and was the main reasons he'd decided to switch teams so to speak. Working for Emma and her party was simply safer, even if they weren't overly fond of him. Cora, on the other hand, tended to dispose of her assistants when she was done with them; a fate he had every intention of avoiding.

Finally he reached his destination and watched from the shadows as Cora stormed away from what he remembered to be villages holding cells. She looked put out and he felt a smirk curl his lips. He'd seen Cora's undead minions carrying the young princess through the forest on his journey here. While he may not have thought much of Flowers' physical capabilities, he had learned that she could be quite the spitfire when she wanted to be. Clearly if the witches expression was anything to go by, she'd learned that lesson personally. He just hoped Cora hadn't killed the girl in a fit of rage, because that would be a serious determinant to his plans

Hook waited a few more seconds to give Cora time to get out of eyesight before he quickly jogged over to the door and slipped inside. The fact that it wasn't locked put him on edge and he bit his lip when he turned to find the young woman sprawled out on the ground surrounded by food. He quickly crossed the room and knelt down to place his fingers on the side of her neck. Then he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a steady pulse there. So Cora still needed her alive for something, though if her condition was anything to go by this girl would be dead once the witch had it.

Thankfully he had a plan that would solve both their problems.

Carefully, so he didn't wake or cut her with his hook, he picked her up and leaned her against the cells rock wall. The he hesitated as he placed his hook over where her heart resided. Killian closed his eyes as he tried to calm his racing heart and push down the bile in his throat as memories of Milah's death played on repeat behind his eyelid. He snarled in frustration and his eyes snapped open again. He didn't want to be doing this, he was willing to do most things without a thought in the name of his revenge but this struck far too close to home for him. Nevertheless it was necessary and if he thought about it logically, she benefited from this too. Cora would most definitely keep her alive far longer this way, then if she was simply a bargaining chip in a trade for the compass.

So, without giving himself anymore time to hesitate he allowed his hook to sink through her chest. The sight was eerie and not a little bit disturbing but he pushed the feelings away as he hooked her heart and pulled as gently as he could. He wanted to cause her the least amount of pain possible so that she didn't wake and realize what he'd done. Once he her now crystallized heart was free of her chest he hastily grabbed it and slipped it into the satchel across his chest.

"Wake up, wake up Sweetheart," he said as he shook her, and then looked back at the doorway to make sure Cora wasn't returning. "Sweetheart wake up!"

"Hook?" she muttered, her voice groggy and her eyes blinked rapidly as she sat up with a little help from him. She didn't seem frightened, only confused by his presence and it made him smirk. At least someone in Emma's company didn't immediately think the worst of him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to rescue you," he raised an eyebrow trying to make himself look as incredulous as possible and then he used his hook to break the manacle on her wrist. Once she was free he pulled her too her feet and smiled dashingly at her. "What else would I be doing?"

"Oh, well, thank you very much." She said and then seemed lost as to what she was supposed to do. Whether it was Cora's hit to the head or his taking of her heart he wasn't sure but either way her mind was clearly still foggy, and he almost sighed in frustration. Pretty she was, survivalist she was not, and she was definitely no Emma. Emma would have already stumbled out the door and been half way back to her group before he'd had a chance to say a word to her, concussion or no. This girl was still trying to figure out what she should do with the open cell door behind him.

"You're most welcome," he said and then he grabbed her shoulders and walked her toward the door. "Listen, I know you're still a little sleepy and stunned. But you need to go and get back to them before they do something stupid. Like give Cora the compass in exchange for you."

"They would never do that," she said, her tone telling him that she didn't believe a word of it. She obviously didn't know her worth to the warrior who'd made it very clear she'd protect this woman above all other concerns.

"Mulan would," he said simply as he shooed her out the door, then he paused and grabbed her arm as a thought occurred to him. "Princess, tell Emma…tell her… it _will _work."

"You're coming with me are you not? You can tell her yourself," she said, her face and eyes determined on this and this time he really did sigh.

"No, I have things I need to get done, things to undermine Cora," he said, throwing on a smile that he was sure had too much teeth and then he gestured again, "Now get on your way, before she returns."

Finally, with only one more look back at the doorway, Flowers fled from her prison and toward her friends. Killian chuckled slightly as he moved further into the darkness of the cave and bunked down to wait for Cora's return. He felt almost bad about using her and her trust this way, but really, what choice did he have? He, they, needed Cora's magic and this was the only way he could see to make that happen now. Anything less than this and the witch would never believe him, hell, even this plan was risky. There was every chance she would simply take the heart and kill him anyway. But it was a risk he was willing to take because the reward, should he succeed, was just too tempting to pass up. Let it never be said that Captain Hook passed up an opportunity for treasure because of the dangers involved in the getting.

0oo0o000o

"…I think he might care for you," she said her voice saccharine sweet and Hook, who had been fiddling with his hook and ignoring the conversation, suddenly became alert. His eyes snapped up to look at Cora, almost of their own accord, and he glared at her. She, on the other hand, continued to talk to the heart, though there was as smiled on her face that made his jaw clench. Just as quickly he smoothed out his features and threw up a quizzical eyebrow as he tried his best to suppress his very visceral reaction to her comment.

That had been a threat, she was threatening him. The witch was an excellent player, he'd give her that. She knew his past, and so she knew that threatening him was worthless. However, threatening a woman he was growing to care about - against his better judgment and almost against his will - was better than any death threat.

"Nice touch that," he said with as cavalier an air as he could manage, given that he was on his back foot so to speak. He had had no idea that a heart could be used in such a manner and this whole mess had never been his intention. He hadn't realized that Flowers would be under _her _control and now his message wasn't going to reach Emma. She'd thwarted his attempts, _again_, to gain the woman's trust and he could say he honestly hated her for it.

"But you know she won't trust you," she replied, almost reading his mind, and then turned to face him as she dropped her hand. Ah, so now she was taunting him; pouring salt in the wound she'd created. He smirked slightly to cover the grimace her words invoked. She was right; Emma definitely wouldn't trust him now. She'd never believe that he saved Flowers because of his _feelings _for her and she'd be suspicious that the girl thought such a thing. If she'd given Emma his initial message there was a chance but that was long gone now.

"She doesn't have to," he said pushing off the wall to stand before the woman. Two could play this game and he was as much a master as she was. "All she has to do is believe I was genuine in letting the girl go. Which she does now, you're welcome."

"Impressive, you took a heart," she said her voice simpering and he knew what she was getting at and the button that she was trying to push. He wouldn't let her.

"And you've a princess," he said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. His face was a perfect mask of calculating coldness and boredom. Though he was sure at least some of the hatred he felt for her leaked through, but resentment was expected from both of them given their last encounter. They worked together because of necessity, not because they liked each other. At least, that's what he wanted her to think and she seemed to buy his act.

"Indeed I do," she replied her eyes narrowed slightly and he had to suppress a cocky smile that he could feel trying to cross his lips. She was frustrated and unsure of him, he could tell. Perfect, that simply meant that everything was going according to plan.

"Now can we get on the business of going to Storybrooke?" he asked smiling brightly at her, like he didn't want rip her apart, slowly. "Together?"

She hesitated for a moment and then sighed as her lips quirked slightly as she caved in the face of his seemingly genuine allegiance. "Why not, I hate to travel alone. All we need is the compass."

"Which will soon be delivered," he responded with a shrug and then he turned away to walk out of the dark pit. His face contorted in anger and hatred now that she couldn't see it. He was going to make her pay dearly for turning Emma against him.

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A/N: alright this chapter is a little shorter and a bit of an interlude. Basically, the calm before the storm, because My God next chapter is going to be a long one.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well this monster took forever. My Emma and Killian muse's were very annoyed with each other and didn't want to talk, on top of that it's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks real life wise. Anyway, because this chapter got so big I had to split it up into two. Meaning that Chapter 8 is already done and edited and I'll be posting it sometime tomorrow!

Special thanks to my beta Rapunzel215 without who this chapter would have taken even longer.

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**Chapter 7**

It hadn't taken them very long, after everything had been sorted, to reach Rumplestiltskin's cell. At the time Emma had barely been able to suppress a smile when Aurora had rejoined them with her message from Ki- Hook. From there they'd headed immediately to the abandoned cave and she'd tried her best to ignore the emotions that were now vying for her attention. He'd saved Aurora and, according to her, he'd done it because of his _feelings _for her. The night they'd almost kissed flashed through her mind and she'd immediately pushed all those feelings down; though not without a little difficulty. That road lead to trouble and even though she trusted him enough to believe he wouldn't screw her over, it didn't mean she was willing to trust him any further than that. She'd played that game not once but twice now and both times she'd been burned, badly. Neal had left her in prison and Graham had died. Love was simply not in her cards and she'd come to terms with that when August had turned to wood in front of her.

As a result of her common sense's war with her heart she was emotionally raw by the time they'd reached the cave, and thus wholly unprepared to deal with what waited for her there. From the moment she realized that Henry had been right about her "destiny" she'd begun to wonder how much of her life was her own. She'd wondered how many of bad things that happened to her, had happened because of who and what she was. But to actually stand there and hear Snow say that this had all been preordained before her birth was, in a word, painful. It was devastating to find out exactly how much of a pawn she'd been all her life, and it was all just too much. So much so that all she could do was sit and stare at the scroll covered in her name while the others searched for the ink.

"What does this even mean?" Emma asked after staring in silence for some time; her voice a mixture of equal parts horror and curiosity toward the parchment.

"He was obsessed with you Emma, you were the key to breaking the curse," Snow replied, panting as she climbed down the side of the cave. Emma glanced at her before looking back at the paper and frowning as she pushed back tears. She was now hold proof of something she'd always known. That she wasn't special, she wasn't a savior. She was simply a pawn in whatever twisted game Gold and Regina were playing, and she'd been played like a fiddle. It was horrifying to realized how little control she had over her own life. She always wondered, as the years of solitude piled up and person after person let her down, whether she'd been cursed somehow. Now she had proof that she had been. She had been meant to be alone because if she'd ever had someone the chances she'd have gotten to Storybrooke, and play her part, were lessened significantly.

"We've looked everywhere, there's no ink left in this cell." Aurora said, breaking through Emma's bleak musings though she didn't look up.

"No, there has to be; he told David," Snow snapped back and Emma cut her eyes to her mother again briefly. She could tell that Snow was reacting her breaking point and she couldn't say she wasn't far behind.

"You were in a nether world, maybe something got lost in translation?" she suggested, hesitant to look up and see the terror on her mother's face at the idea.

"No, she heard right," Mulan spoke up and pulled something from within a crack in the wall. Both Emma and Snow immediately jumped into action and raced across the cell to look at the bottle that the warrior held.

"You found it?"

"In a matter of speaking," she sighed as disappointment clouded her features and she held up the bone dry ink well. "there was ink in this cell"

"Son of a bitch," Emma breathed out and then she looked at the paper in her hand as a thought occurred to her. Staring at the ink writing on the parchment she almost crumpled it into a ball in a fit of frustration. He'd used it all. The crazy bastard used all of the ink to create this masterpiece of creeptastic obsession and now there was none left to help them. But if that was the case, _then why send them here_?

Emma could feel a storm brewing inside of her at the realization that they'd wasted precious time coming here. Now all they had left was Killian and his grand plan, which was probably a long shot at best. Emma rubbed her forehead as she tried to think through the situation, ignoring Aurora as she bent down to pick up a rock and threw it. She felt like throwing things in frustration too, so who was she to stop someone else from doing it. Too late, she realized what was really going on as she watched, with both confusion and horror, as the rock sailed through the air and hit the lever that held the gate to the prison open. It stuck the wood with unerring accuracy and the wheel immediately started to spin causing sharp metal spikes to sliding into place.

"Aurora what are you doing?!" She yelled as she made a mad dash for the exit but fell just short of her escape and grabbed the bars to stop herself from slamming head first into them.

"Helping me." said a voice she had hoped to never hear again, and she looked up with a glare to see Cora standing before her with..._Kil- Hook_ leaning on a wall off to the side. Not trusting herself to look at him and _not _give something away she refused to look at him at all. She didn't know why he was here but she was sure it had to do with tricking the witch into opening the portal for them. So instead she looked at Cora and watched intently as she made a motion with her hand. There was a brief puff of smoke around her hand and before Emma could blink the compass that had been resting safely in her palm was in Cora's possession.

"No, no no," Emma said as she stared at her empty hand. It didn't take long for confusion to give way to panic and she began pulling on the cells bars in a desperate attempt to get out. It didn't matter at that moment that Hook had a plan; all that mattered was that her ticket home was no longer in her possession. She needed to get it back. So she pushed on the bars, even though it was futile.

"Don't waste your energy dear, Rumplestiltskin himself couldn't escape from this cell. Thank you Aurora. We couldn't have done it without you," she laughed and Emma almost snarled as she ceased her efforts. As much as she hated to admit it, the witch was right. So instead she opted to turn on someone she could take her anger out on and glared at the young princess. "Don't blame her, she was only doing what she was told."

Confused, Emma spun back around and her mouth dropped open in horror at what Cora was hold up for all the world to see. "You took her heart?!"

"Actually, I did. It was a gift." Hook said speaking up for the first time and she looked directly at him. He stood against the rock wall, his shoulders tense and his thumb in constant motion on the necklace, the bean, in his hand. For a brief moment their eyes met and she could have sworn she saw something there, some kind of emotion other than cool indifference. But the moment was broken as he looked away and nodded to Cora.

"Forgive us, we'd love to stay, but Storybrooke awaits," she said with the sweetest smile Emma had ever seen on her. Then she turned to leave them behind, trapped in the dark prison.

Emma watched as Killian turned to follow and she panicked. She desperately wanted to believe that she hadn't been wrong to put her faith in him. She'd promised herself that she would trust him, that she _did_ trust him, but this was all too much. What he'd said and done, the fact that she was in almost the same exact situation, again, was giving her doubts. She _needed_ him to turn around and at least give her a clue that this was simply part of his plan. That was all she needed, a wink or a gesture that told her he wasn't really doing this.

"Hook, wait!" she yelled at his back and then took a deep breath, "Please don't do this."

0oo0o0o0o

It was in the instant her panicked calls reached him, and he instinctively turned back to her, that he realized exactly how far gone he was. Cora was there, and he knew that he should ignore Emma and continue walking. All his response would do was further prove to the witch that her assessment of the situation was correct. Really, this action put them both in jeopardy and he _knew_ that; but he still couldn't stop himself. She was calling him, she _needed_ him, and he now knew that he as long as there was hope for _them_, he could never deny _her_.

"You promised! My son needs me to protect him!" she said, gripping the bars and staring at him like she was trying to see into his mind. To be fair that was likely the case and he want to smile at her blatant attempt to play upon his sympathies, needless as it was. But, he force his face to remain impassive and annoyed. It was enough that he'd turned to face her at all. He would give Cora nothing else.

"Perhaps you should have considered that before you abandoned me on that beanstalk," he snapped back, trying his best to sound spiteful.

She seemed stunned by his statement, and rightly so since he had forgiven her that. Then in a voice so quiet he almost missed it she said, "You forgave me, we have a deal."

It took everything in him not to wince apologetically, and he moved closer; until all that separated them were the bars. From this distance she should be able to read the lie in his eyes, "That was your mistake. I told you I would take the side of whoever got me there first. Clearly, that's not you."

"You-" she said in a stuttering voice and he smirk as she was stunned into silence. Oh, yes, he was on her side and it was time to cement that fact for her.

"You remember this," he said, holding up the bean that she'd been so interested in the night before. This was his backup plan in case everything else went to pot. If his three hundred years of life had taught him anything, it was that magical items never truly lost their powers. One just had to find a way to revitalize them. "I never did get a chance to tell you why I had it."

As he dangled it in front of her, her eyes lit with fury and she made a grab for it, "You bastard, I bet you _did _kill him for it."

Hook's eyes narrowed at the sudden attack and sneered at her. She _still _didn't trust him, even though he'd clearly been lying a moment ago. She wasn't a fool which meant that she was willfully ignoring his attempts to gain her trust, and in that moment, he lost his temper. He wanted to hurt her as much as that statement had hurt him. "No, it's a symbol, of something that was once magical, full of hope, and possibility. Now look at it: dried up, dead, useless. Much like you."

The instant the words were out of his mouth he regretted them; they weren't true and they certainly weren't helpful. Normally, he had a better control of his temper, but his patience with her was wearing thin. However, seeing Emma's wounded expression, he quickly tried to think of something he could do to make it right without risking Cora's notice. The bracer on her wrist caught his attention, and, without really think it through, he grabbed the hand.

"The time for making deals is done," Hook told her in a low voice, and brought the bracer near his mouth; making it seem like he was kissing the back of her hand. Emma was so shocked by his actions that she didn't fight him, and he whispered a quiet word over the enchanted leather. Instantly he felt something shatter in the back of his mind as the spell linking them together ended. An uneasiness settled in his stomach at what he was doing but he pushed it away. This play was desperate, but it was the only one he had.

He was letting her go.

That bracer was his leverage against her, his assurance that she would take him with her when the time came. By breaking that link he was telling her in no uncertain terms that he trusted her not to leave him behind. It was risky because she still could. But deactivating the bracers was the only thing he could think of that would communicate his intention to Emma while Cora was watching. Nothing else would do because she didn't trust him. Thus Hook deduced that a wink or a smile would have made Emma thinking he was mocking her, and that would have been detrimental to his cause; especially after his temper overrode his temperance. It was time to finish this charade and take his leave before he made this situation worse.

"Just as I am done with you," he said coolly, hoping she would understand his ploy. He dropped her wrist before walking backwards and away from her, suppressing a smile at the shocked on her face. Hopefully, once she was given time to cool off from their confrontation - which he would admit was entirely his fault - she would be calm enough to realize what he had done. If not then when he came back to let them out, hopefully that would clue her in. Then maybe, just maybe, she was stop fight him so damn much.

00o0ooo0o0o

Emma stared shell shocked after his retreating back; the now cold and deactivated bracer sitting as dead weight against her skin.

He'd just gotten rid of her reason for trusting him. The one tangible thing she could point to that proved he wasn't screwing her over. It wasn't like she could trust her own feelings on the matter. It had been proven to her time and again that her 'feelings' more often than not were wrong, and she got hurt. Like now for instance, because as he walked away from her and her heart broke in two she could no longer lie to herself that it was the bracers that had made her trust him. She'd trusted him because she liked him, because she'd felt a connection to him, and because against it all she'd started to fall for him.

An old adage ran through her mind as she stared at the empty space before her. 'Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' She'd been right from the beginning, he was _exactly_ like Neal. Now she was right back where she never wanted to be; in prison while a man she'd trusted and cared for sauntered away with all her hopes and dreams.

In the stunned silence of the cell Emma could hear her heartbeat increasing; as her shock faded and a burning rage replaced it. Her grip on the cells bars became white knuckled and her breathing harder, as she valiantly fought a losing battle against her emotions. Trying her best to suppress the very visceral reaction she was having. She was the calm one, the walled one, she didn't let others see the hurt.

But, like a dam holding back too much water, her control finally snapped. In a quick move she pulled out her sword and slammed the blade against the metal of the bars before her. The force of the hit so great that sparks went fly in all directions. Everyone else in the cell gasped and jumped, but she didn't care as she glared at the metal before her. One hit hadn't been enough to satisfy the burning fury and so she started to beat on the bars. Desperately trying to release all the anger, the sadness and the...heartache inside her. Unbeknownst to her the cells other occupants quickly moved away from the enraged woman and sat at the back of the cave watching her emotional display warily.

"You aren't going to break it down Emma, it was enchanted to hold Rumplestiltskin," Snow sighed once she noticed her swings slowing and she thought her words would reach her daughter. "We don't have a chance."

Emma dropped her arms as she stood and stared at the completely unblemished bars. Even after all of the abuse she'd given them, they still remained firm and undamaged. Though her scratched and nicked sword couldn't boost the same resilience. So, with a sigh that sound more like a sob, she collapsed against the wall beside her and put her head in her hands as she slide to the floor.

"This is my fault," Aurora said in a quiet voice after several minutes of silence broken only by the sounds of Emma's stuttered breathing.

"No, it's mine" Mulan replied, moving to sit next to the princess; placing a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Cora stole your heart because I failed to protect you,"

"That's very sweet," Emma sighed, and rolled her eyes. Mulan's nobility was usually inspiring to her, but in her current frame of mind it was just sickening to watch. "But I'm the savior. I'm just not doing very much saving am I?"

Everyone was silent as they contemplated their fate for a few more moments before Snow moved to slide down the rock wall and sit next to her."We're going to win this fight you know. Good always defeats evil."

Emma chuckled weakly as the familiar phrase both warmed and hurt her in equal measure."You sound like Henry."

"I guess optimism runs in the family," Snow quipped with a smile as she bumped Emma's shoulder in an effort bring her out of her bleak mood.

It failed spectacularly as Emma stared at the bracer on her wrist. She should tell Snow what had happened. That their one bit of insurance had just been obliterated, but her pride stopped her. To tell her mother exactly how bad she'd been played by the pirate, how deeply that fact hurt her...No, it was still too new, too raw and close to the surface and her mother had already seen too much of her today. "I think it skipped a generation."

Snow sighed and then shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You should know better than anybody. You broke the curse!"

"What have I done since then?" Emma asked looking her mother dead in the eye, and then told her the truth. "I got us stranded over here, burned down the wardrobe, let Cora get the ashes and now the compass. The only reason I ever broke the curse was because it was exactly what Gold wanted me to do. I had nothing to do with it."

"What are you talking about?"

"He told you I was the savior, it was his plan. Once I'd fulfilled that role maybe that all I was ever meant to do. Everything I've ever done; he had it all mapped out before I was even born! I'm not powerful, I'm not...a savior." she said looking away and then she pulled out the paper with her name on it. "I'm a name on a piece of paper. I'm a pawn and that is exactly why we are in here and Cora's on her way to Storybrooke."

Snow was silent as she stared at the parchment and Emma looked away again, staring through the bars of the cell. That was the thing she hated most about prisons, the fact that freedom was just on the other side of bars. Freedom you could see but never reach no matter how hard you tried. It was a cruel punishment, doubly so for someone who was being punished for a crime they didn't commit. "We are going to get out of here."

Emma blinked, drawn out of her depressing thoughts and turn to stare at her determined mother incredulously. "How? By staring at that scroll? It's not like it's going to magically open the door for us."

Snow smiled brilliantly at her before standing quickly, "Yes it is."

"What?"

"When I was a little girl," Snow said her voice excited as she continued to stare at the parchment. "I used to sneak into Cora's chamber and watch her practice magic. She had a spell book and Emma, the spells were _in _the book."

"Yea, isn't that what a spell book is? A book that has spells in it." Emma said with not a little bit of sarcasm as a pretty significant part of her wondered if her mother had cracked at the prospect of never seeing David again.

"Watch," Her mother said with an unamused frown before she blew on the paper. For a half a second nothing happened, and Emma raised an eyebrow, but then slowly, ever so slowly the words began to lift from the page and dissolved into a black mist.

"Whoa," Emma exclaimed jumping to her feet as the ink literally flowed off the page. She hadn't even known something like that was possible. "The squid ink! It still works!"

"Told ya," Snow all but crowed as the black mist moved outwards and dissolved the bars before them. "Good always wins!"

Emma's smile fell slightly as she stared at the melted bars before her, then her eyes flicked back to the scroll. That scroll had been here the entire time, Gold had _made_ it, so why had he still been in this prison when the curse hit? He could have gotten out at any point, but he hadn't and the thought made her uneasy. Then another equally disconcerting thought occurred to her. Had he known this was going to happen? Snow had said he could see the future, had he known that they would get stuck in here and need a way out? But if that was the case then why would he let them get caught at all, what was he playing at?

She was jarred out of her thoughts by her mother who squeezed her shoulder before moving past her and out of the cell. Immediately she moved into action and grabbed her things, snatching the scroll from the floor of the cell and shoving it into her pocket as almost an afterthought. She didn't have time to examine it now, but if it could melt the bars of the supposedly unbreakable cell then she was more than will to keep it. There might still be ink left somewhere on it.

"Wait I can't go, you have to tie me up!"

The other three members of the party turned back to look at Aurora with varying levels of incredulity, and Emma could feel her temper rising. They didn't have time for this. "We're not going without you."

"I can't be trusted, not as long as Cora holds my heart," Aurora smiled sadly as she shook her head at Mulan and Emma realized she was right. They couldn't trust her and Cora would definitely use her if she was present. So she remained silent as Mulan tied her up and swore to save her heart. The young princess, brave as she was, just smiled at them and wished them luck. Emma nodded at her, feeling something she never imagined she'd feel for someone she once considered the definition of "spoiled princess", a deep respect for her bravery.

"Mulan we gotta go," she said gently and the warrior nodded at her. Then the three of them turned and ran out of the cave, swords in hand.

She had a pirate to hunt down and hurt.

* * *

A/N: Done! Depending on how things go tomorrow chapter 8 will either be up before I go to work or after I get home.

Reviews make me happy and inspire me so leave me a quick one if you can! : )


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Well! Here's the next part.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

As he and Cora stood above the swirling vortex, hands clasped around the compass, he realized he was out of options. The witch was smart and she'd made sure to keep the perfect defensive distance between the two of them, by making him open the portal. His plan to overpower her while she worked her magic would never work with their current positioning, she'd stop him before he could take his first step. She may have been willing to let him come with her, but she also wasn't fool enough to trust him. So, left with no other option, he subtly reached into his pocket and pulled out the bean with his hook. The only thing he could do now was leave it behind for them, and hope they found a way out of their imprisonment. It wasn't something he was overly worried about, Emma was a resourceful one, and he knew she'd find her way here eventually. Then surely at least one of them would be able to deduce what he had done the second Lake Nostos had entered the equation. Thankfully he didn't have to, as an arrow sailed through the air with terrifying accuracy and knocked the trinket out of both their hands.

Killian felt something almost a kin to pride as a small smile spread over his lips. There they stood imposingly on the other side of the vortex, the warriors of their party. They'd made it out and all on their own too. Though it looked like they'd left Flowers behind for the moment, not that he blamed them for that; she couldn't be trusted.

"Get the compass," he heard Snow yell. So he pulled out his sword - in a show for Cora as she too ordered the same - and he turned to search for it. Once he had it Cora would become superfluous and he could finally take her down, maybe knock her rudderless into the vortex, with some help from the ladies of course. They would make a lovely diversion for him. He'd just bent down to look when movement caught his attention and he snapped his head to see Emma racing around the portal to him.

"Glad you could finally make it, love. I was worried you'd miss all the fun," he said with a smile when she came into hearing distance, but she didn't stop and he was forced to bring up his sword quickly to block a wild swing. He gasped in surprise when jolt raced up his arm from the force of their collision, and the screech of steel against steel was loud his ears. The look of utter rage and loathing on her face and in her eyes was both highly concerning and very confusing. When he'd left her in the cell she'd been shocked and upset, but not vengeful and murderous.

"Give me the compass Hook," she hissed as she broke away from him with a powerful kick to the chest. Instantly three hundred years worth of fighting instinct kicked in and he dodged her next strike with easy before they began to circle one another.

"What _are_ you doing Swan?" he growled, anger seeping into every part of him, she had the same walled look in her eye she'd had when she left him atop that blasted plant, only darker, far darker. He would not allow her to cross him again, he couldn't afford to. His leverage against her was gone.

"I'm going home, you son of a bitch." she hissed as she swung her sword at his head and he easily blocked her novice attempt to hurt him. Something had gone very wrong, something had changed between the cell and this lake. She wasn't just upset, she was enraged, murderous even, and if he was reading her right, she was hurt. But why? He'd let her go, he'd taken the noose from around her neck so to speak, _what_ was she upset about? Betraying him he could see, but she was out for revenge and he didn't understand it.

"Emma, stop this," he snapped as he tried to control the multitude of emotions he was feeling at the moment, most he couldn't even put a name too. "You can't win in a fight with me."

"Screw you," she said coming at him again and he brought up his blade to stop hers. Killian grit his teeth, he needed to end this before she hurt herself trying to hurt him. So in a quick move he was able to snake his blade around hers and wrench it out of her hand.

He then leveled his blade at her and smirked at her shocked expression. However, much to his horror, it did seem to stop her and he saw the intent in her eyes half a second before she acted. Quickly, he angled his sword away as she charged him and he grabbed her by the shoulders as she tried to run past him; flipping her to the sand. Thankfully, by some miracle, he was able to prevent her from being skewered on both his hook and sword. She laid there stunned for only about a second before she tried to crawl away from him and back toward her fallen weapon. Killian heaved a sigh, slammed his blade into the ground, and leaned down to grab her ankle hauling her back to him. Unknowingly dodging an arrow Snow aimed at him in the process. "Emma! That's enough! I have three hundred years experience and you don't even hold the blade right."

"Let me go," she snarled like a wounded animal and then she said something that shocked him so much he almost dropped her ankle. "I can't believe I _ever_ trusted you!"

"What are-"

"NO!" the yell was loud and it reached his ears over the roar of the water. Glancing up he felt his heart skip a beat as he watched his satchel flying toward the swirling abyss. If it fell through the chances were good that Flowers would die and even if she didn't she would never get her heart back again. Visions of Milah's heart dissolving into dust filled him mind's eye; if he let this happen he would be no better than the Crocodile, worse even because she'd trusted him. So he reacted instantly.

In a move that was both instinctual and stupid, he used Emma as a counter weight and threw himself outwards; just managing to catch the bag as it fell. His breath left his body in a laugh as the strap landed securely on his hook and, with Emma's unintentional help, he was able to pull himself back from the brink. As soon as his feet were stable under him he let her go and she ran to her sword, spinning to stare at him beside the warrior, shock clear on both of their faces.

"I may be a pirate, but I bristle at the thought of a woman losing her heart," he said as he unhooking the bag and threw it to the warrior, eyes firmly focused on Emma as he picked up his sword again. Just in case she decided to attack. "Unless it's over me of course."

"I didn't realize you had a soft side," Emma hissed after gesturing the other woman away, her tone almost mocking as she came to stand before him again, sword at the ready.

"I haven't crossed you Emma," he sighed as he raised his blade and he tried to reason with her. Somewhere between their camp and that cell this contrary female had started to trust him, which is why she was so upset about his seeming betrayal. Clearly her trust, such as it had been, was a fragile thing; he thought trying to avoid the fact that his words and actions in that prison had not exactly been conducive to trust. In fact. if he'd known she trust him then, he would have gone about things much differently.

"Screw you, I can't believe I fell for this bullshit again, you're just like _him_," she snarled and threw a swing at his stomach that he dodged with as much grace as the sandy terrain allowed.

_Again?... Him?_ In an instant Hook realized that this wasn't about him at all. Well, to be fair, at least part of it was; but a larger part of it seemed to be coming from somewhere in her past. Something about this situation had not just opened old wounds but clearly ripped them asunder. It would certainly explain why her trust was broken so easily and why she hadn't seen that he was acting for Cora's sake. She hadn't been able to see the truth behind the clouds old pain had cast.

_I've been in love… once._

_I can't take the chance I'm wrong about you._

Ah, so that was it, she'd trusted someone before, someone he clearly reminded her of, and it had gone poorly. Very poorly, if the way his arm was vibrating as their swords clashed was any indication. She was taking out her anger at that man on him because she thought he'd done the same. Killian's eyebrows furrowed as another piece of the Emma puzzle fell into place. This must have been what she'd held back during their talk the other day. He looked into her hard eyes, seeing the old pain, and he was sure. Her memories of that man were the true reason why she'd refused to trust him for so long. "Emma, I didn't betray you. I'm not him."

"Yeah, that's why you left me in a _jail cell_!" she snarled and the way she said the words caught his attention; there was something there. The way she focused on where she was left was important and he stored that information away for later. "Why you were standing over the portal with Cora ready to jump."

"Emma there's more than one way to get home. I was going to leave you the bean," he replied, blocking her swing and bring them close together again.

"Aw, thank you, a dried up and useless magic bean, how kind of you." she hissed, throwing his words back at him and he flinched, his moment of temper working against him like he'd known it would.

"It's not useless, dip it in the lake and it _will_ work again," he said quickly and quietly so that there was no chance Cora would overhear. He needed to make her see reason, and he had to do it quickly. The longer this went on the greater chance there was that she was going to get hurt. If they were simply sparring that would be one thing, but here she was honestly trying to hurt him. Her aggression brought to the fore three centuries' worth of instincts he was fighting mentally just as much as he was fighting her physically.

Her left side was open, he could gut her easily. Her grip was wrong; he could knock away her sword and send the hand with it. Her footwork was dismal; he could trip her and follow through with a stab to the stomach. Her guard was too low; it would take less than half a second to take her head. There were a hundred different ways he could kill her in this moment and in the darker part of his mind he considered it. That darkness was screaming at him that he should just kill the bitch and be done with it, move on, and get to his Crocodile. But the rest of him? The rest of him couldn't bear the thought of causing her harm.

"Yeah, sure it would," she snorted, clearly not believing a word he said, and he had to wonder about this other man she was seeing in place of him. What had that bastard, for he had to be one to break such an amazing woman so horribly, done to her that reason meant nothing? Whatever he'd done they would have to deal with it later, as it stood he was done playing around. In a quick move he expertly latched his hook around her ankle and pulled her feet out from under her. She slammed into the ground again but this time he followed her and threw himself down across her legs; placed his sword to her throat. For half a second he thought she was going to try to fight back and he placed it there more firmly.

"This stops! I am on your side" he whispered fiercely, leaning over her, their faces only centimeters apart. From this distance it would be completely and utterly impossible for her not to see the honesty in his gaze. Too late he realized what a mistake this had been. He could almost feel his sense leaving him as she panted beneath him. Her warm breath moved across his lips and the faint scent of lavender drew him in even further. The urge to move forward and seal her lips with his, to show her physically why he hadn't, and would never betray her; was almost overwhelming. But fight it he did, because kissing her now would not help his cause by any stretch of the imagination. For a second, though it was enough, the tactic seemed to work and her eyes cleared and a different emotion filled them. She seemed to see _him_ again, not the phantom she was fighting. But just as quickly, once she realized what she was doing, the look was gone and he felt like cursing.

Stubborn bint, "Dammit Swan, stop fighting me!"

"Why would I do that when I'm winning?" she asked with a sneer and held up the compass. He looked at it and, mind still muddled, he leaned back without thinking. She had the devils luck she honestly did. It was the only reason that things seemed to fall into her lap like this. Too late he realized his mistake and he paid for it as she again kicked him backwards and off of her.

Hook groaned as he rolled away onto his feet, he was done with this. If his little hell-cat didn't want to see reason then he was going to stop trying to make her. All it was doing was wasting his time and giving him bruises that he was going to feel in the morning. He didn't want to hurt her but she was leaving him very little choice. They came at one another again and he was able to angle their blades away, almost forcing her to let go of hers. It was his second mistake in as many minutes.

"Thanks," she crowed and then connected her fist with his head. He stood there, stunned for a moment as she glared victoriously at him, and then the world went black as he fell backwards. His last thought; that this would have been devastating if he didn't have another way to Storybrooke.

0o0o0o0o00o0o

As his body fell before her Emma felt a brief moment of pride. She now knew that he'd been telling her the truth, he hadn't betrayed them, not really. But the realization hadn't cooled her anger. If anything, it'd made it worse. The things he'd said, that fact that she hadn't been able to see that he was lying, and the terror she felt when she saw him standing over the portal preparing to use her only way home to her son. All of it had coalesced into a maelstrom of emotions, and she didn't much care about why he'd done what he did, only that he had.

"Now let's go home!" she yelled turning to face her mother; let the conniving bastard find his own way home. Let him use that bean he was so proud of to get there, because he _wasn't_ coming with_ her_. As she turned she froze for a moment at the sight that lay before her.

There stood Cora and her mother facing down one another. All she knew in that instant was that Cora was dangerous and that put her newly acquired family in serious jeopardy. That was something she couldn't allow to happen, so she reacted without really thinking and still fueled by anger, she ran at the witch with her sword. This turned out to have been the completely wrong thing to have done, because the second she reached her the witch disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Emma realized with horror as her stroke fell, that all she'd done was allowed Cora to get behind them and their escape.

Their way out now blocked, she and Snow looked at one another briefly. Almost instantaneously they agreed on a plan, even though it was futile, and ran at the same time same toward the portal. Cora smiled at them as they came toward her and then, with her hands held out, she sent them flying backwards. Both women landed on the sand several feet back and were momentarily stunned while Cora stalked towards them. Snow was the first to recover, having only been thrown down once, and was on her feet by the time the witch reached them. Emma too tried to get up, but was thrown backwards yet again for her trouble. This time she stayed down as the world swam before her and she tried to catch her breath.

"Why do you want to go to Storybrooke?" Emma heard her mother's breathless query over the cotton in her ears, and she forced her uncooperative limbs into a sitting position. She'd been thrown too many times today and her brain was still bouncing around in her skull.

"Because my daughter needs me," Cora said with a smile, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. However, Emma had a feeling that it was anything but, "and now I'm going to give her the one things she's always wanted. Your heart."

"Goodbye Snow," she said as she reared her hand back and with a gasp Emma's heart overruled her body. Jumping to her feet, her vision swimming, she pushed her mother out of the way at the last second and Cora's hand entered her chest like a hot knife through butter.

"Emma!"

"Oh, you foolish girl!" Cora laughed as Emma gaped at her, barely able to breathe due to the pressure in her chest. It didn't hurt per say, but it was a disconcerting and uncomfortable feeling. However the lack of pain might have been a symptom of shock or her already addled brain; she wasn't sure. Either way she _was_ sure that she'd be feeling it very soon if the smile on Cora's face was anything to go by. "Don't you know, love is weakness?"

Emma made a strangled sound, as Cora actually squeezed her heart instead of just held it. Like she'd known it would, pain raced through her body as the witch tried to rip her heart out of her chest. Then something happened that no one expected, and Emma looked from Cora's face to her hand and back. No matter how hard the witch pulled or how many times she tried, her heart stayed right where it should be. Cora finally gave up, though she kept her hand in Emma's chest, and looked up at her with confusion and fear in her eyes. As they stared at one another a realization came to Emma, quick and fully formed. It was as if she'd always known it but somewhere in the long painful road of her life the knowledge had gotten lost. That love, true love, was stronger than any curse. Which meant love was the most powerful and dangerous thing there is, was, or ever could be; so how could it _ever_ be a weakness.

"No," she said breathlessly as she stared down the older woman. "It's strength."

Instantly she felt a powerful energy surge through her, like her words had broken a barrier somewhere deep inside her, and light filled every part. Then, when it became too much for her to contain, the energy spilled out in a tidal wave of power that she distantly thought looked like starlight. It knocked Cora back and slammed her to the ground as it spread outwards in all directions leaving Emma standing there shocked and confused.

"What was that?" she asked her mother, voice terrified as the other woman came to inspect the area where her heart resided, finding her whole and undamaged.

"That," she panted, "Is a great subject for discussion when we get home."

Emma nodded, not actually wanting to deal with this latest revelation, and held out the compass which Snow took with a smile and ran ahead to the portals edge. She moved to follow, but a black shape out of the corner of her eye stopped her. It was Hook's unconscious body, and as she looked at him a resigned feeling settled in her. It was like that explosion of power had somehow taken her anger and hurt with it. She felt lighter and her mind was clearer, and now that it was she realized that she couldn't leave him here. Not with Cora. After everything he'd done the witch would definitely kill him.

She didn't want that.

"Emma come on!" Snow yelled over the wind at the portals edge when she noticed her hesitation. Emma gave her a defeated look as she quickly jogged over to his prone body. "What are you doing?!"

"We can't leave him here," she yelled back as she reached him, and held up her arm to reminded Snow of the bracer. It was an excuse, an invalid one now that the magic was no longer active, but Snow didn't know that and she didn't have time to explain the real reason. Simply put, she'd left him behind before when he'd trusted her and she wouldn't…couldn't do it this time.

"You annoying bastard," she grumbled as she grabbed his good arm, threw it over her shoulder, and hauled his dead weight as best she could. She took a step forward and looked up to see Snow shake her head before moving to help her carry him. It was clear that her ploy had worked and her mother wasn't going to put up a fight about it. "You can't just be who you're supposed to be."

"I'm pleased you've come to your senses," he muttered into her ear and she jumped slightly before turning to look at him as he gazed up at her his eyes still clearly dazed; the expression made him look half drunk. "However, I think its best we get on our way."

"You-" she muttered and then shook her head as she helped him stand a little straighter. "How long have you been conscious exactly?"

"The stardust woke me," he said and her hand gripped the back of his shirt reflexively at his description. Was he talking about that strange explosion of magic she'd caused? Had _it _woken him? Shaking her head she pushed aside her thought for later analysis, she was doing that a lot today, and grabbed his shoulders as he started to slump again.

Then the world came out from under her.

Her eyes snapped shut at the light before her and a loud sound reverberated through her body as it made her ears ring. She felt weightless for a second, the wind whistling in her ears and her hair flying around her, as she flew backwards away from the others. Then her back forcefully met the sand and for a scary second she couldn't breathe. Her world narrowed to the feeling of heat on the front of her body, the sting of fast moving sand, and the ringing.

There were a lot of moments in Emma's long painful life were she could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat. Something would happen, never a good something, and her heart seemed to have a visceral reaction to it. Things like the first time a foster parent hit her, or the realization that the woman running the orphanage she'd been living in for two years didn't even know her name. But the moments where her heart actually stopped and her brain ceased to function were rare. She was a strong person, made tougher by the life she'd been given, and there weren't many things that could affect her to her core. In fact, she could only really remember three. The first was actually her first memory and it was the realization that her foster parents weren't coming back. That they'd left her in cold place that didn't love her, like they'd promised they would. The second was when that police officer had told her to raise her hands. When she'd realized that Neal, another person who'd promised to love her, left her alone in an unforgiving hell. Then there was the most recent one. When the son who'd found her and given her a home lay seemingly dead in his hospital bed. The newest person to promise her happiness and yet leave her with nothing but pain. Her only comfort, cold as it was, that he hadn't chosen to leave of his own volition like everyone before him. He'd been trying to prove a point in typical child fashion, he'd never intended to die, to leave.

Emma's breath left her completely this time and she saw stars as she was slammed into the ground for the fifth time since the fighting began. Completely unable to move her limbs she could only turn her head and watch as Snow began to fall backwards into the abyss pushed by the force of Cora's blast. She watched helplessly as the witch made a grab for the woman's falling body with her magic but it was too late, far too late. The damage was done. Whatever magic the portal held clearly cancelled out the witches own. She was already past the point of stopping and so she fell; bright eyes wide with horror, a golden compass sparkling in her hand.

And for the fourth time in her life Emma's heart stopped.

* * *

And I'm going to end there! Chapter 9 should be up, hopefully, sometime next week. Till next time!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: *bows head* sorry this took so long. My life got crazy unexpectedly and my beta and I have been really busy. Hopefully next chapter won't talk long, but I make not promises.

Beta: the lovely Rapunzel215

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"No," Emma breathed and pushed herself to her feet on shaky arms. It took her longer than it should have to get her footing in the sand, as she attempted reach the portal before it disappeared. The only coherent thought in her mind, as she walked drunkenly forward, was that she had to get home, to get back to her son and her family. She would have jumped through what remained of the whirlpool had two arms not wrapped themselves around her waist and hauled her back. In her current state they felt more like steel bands than arms and her weak struggles were futile against him. "Let me go!"

"Stop! Emma if you go now you won't reach Storybrooke!" Hook panted, as he held her back with little difficulty. "You'll end up somewhere else and I couldn't help you."

"I have to try," she said weakly, her dazed mind not comprehending his meaning. He grunted in frustration as she clawed at him, eyes firmly fixed ahead, but her already pathetic struggles were growing weaker as he pulled her further away. Finally she ceased, as the moving water slowed, and the realization that this path home was gone finally sank in, and her legs gave out, Killian's strength the only thing holding her upright.

"There's another way, love. I -" Emma never got to hear the rest of his statement because in that instant both of them were thrown violently apart again. Killian landed on a dune several feet away and Emma landed by the edge of the water. The second she hit the ground Emma's brain momentarily rattled and her world went black and silent as she succumbed to unconsciousness. Unaware of how long she had been out, when she finally awoke she instantly wished she hadn't. All she could do was stare wide-eyed up at Cora who stood over her, gazing out at the small pool beside her.

"Now look what you've done," Cora hissed as she glared at the mirror like surface, and her eyes slid to the woman at her feet. Emma shivered when she saw the anger, the bloodlust, in the older woman's gaze, and she could barely breathe past the terror that constricted her chest and clawed at her throat. The witch smiled, and she could see her death. Emma almost felt like crying, though she wouldn't give the bitch the satisfaction, as she watched Cora raise her hand before her. An unseen force overtook her body then and, like a puppet attached to strings, Emma was forcibly hauled into the air. She hung there, her feet dangling just off the ground, fighting against it with what little strength she had left.

"I may not be able to take your heart," Cora hissed, bringing Emma's face close to hers. "But there's more than one way to kill someone." Desperate for release, Emma's eyes searched frantically for Hook, her last hope, and located him a short distance away, watching them with an unreadable expression.

Cora smiled at Emma with sick glee as she very slowly closed the hand that she was using to hold her up into a fist. Emma began to struggle in earnest this time as survival instincts kicked in and phantom hands closed around her throat making it harder and harder to breathe. Emma's mind panicked as lights danced before her eyes and blackness crept across her vision. She was dying. The knowledge was terrifying and the hot tears finally leaked from her eyes. She had known this was going to happen; had seen it in the witch's eyes, but knowing it and experiencing it were two vastly different things. She was never going to see her son again, never see her family again. She was never going to grow old and find the person, if there was one, that she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. She was only twenty-eight. She had so much more life to live, but she was going to die here because she had made all the wrong choices when it came to Hook ... no, Killian. Killian Jones, a man she should have trusted and yet betrayed not once but twice. Now she was paying the price. The last thing she knew, as everything faded away, was the feeling of her body crumpling to the ground and her head striking the sand.

As she drifted in the darkness around her everything felt numb, disjointed, and surreal. In fact, the only things that felt real at all was the dull pain in her chest where her heart was and a sound like screaming that reverberated through and around her. It was strange, she knew she cared about both things, that both sensations were important to her, she cared about them, and they were her connections to reality. But she was too far away from the waking world to understand why. So she just drifted, waiting for the light people always said came when the end did. She wasn't sure how long she existed there, minutes, days, years, when suddenly, like someone was using a defibrillator, energy and life shot through her.

Her eyes snapped open with a gasp and she continued to breathe hard. Her head felt clearer now, though she was by no means completely healed if the aching of her body was anything to go by, and the dull pain in her heart was sharper. But as she moved to grip her chest she realized she couldn't move at all, "There we can't have you sleeping through your punishment now can we?"

Emma's head snapped to the right, without her willing it, and she realized why she couldn't move. Cora's spell was still active and she was still a puppet in a string. As she was forced to look her stomach dropped and she felt her still throbbing heart jump into her throat at the sight before her. Killian was no longer across the lake bottom from them. Instead he was on his knees before Cora and her hand was thrust through his chest. She could see the apology, as well as the pain, on his face as he looked at her and something in her broke.

She may not have seen it, but she knew from his eyes that he'd tried to save her and he'd failed. Now he was caught too. He was going to die and _he _was telling _her _sorry. He could have gotten away, he could have run and hid while Cora was dealing with her. There was no reason for him to save her, there was no bracer that tied them, no leverage or option he would lose by writing her off. But he hadn't, just as he hadn't let her jump through the portal. He'd hadn't left her, he'd tried to save her, and now he was _apologizing _because he'd failed. Emma wanted to move, she wanted to get up and help him, but she couldn't and her eyes shifted to the witch as she laughed at them.

"He thought he could save you my dear," she said, sounding almost bored before squeezing Hook's heart slightly, and he cried out as the dull pain in her chest became sharper. "Whatever did you do to gain such loyalty from a man like this?"

"She was the better choice you demented hag," Killian spat at her through clenched teeth and Emma would have raised her eyebrows if she could. Apparently he was going for broke and was dropping even the pretense of civility when it came to Cora.

"Oh Hook," she sneered, squeezing his heart even further and in response his back arched. She could see the veins in his neck as his face contorted in pure agony and an almost silent croaked scream left his mouth. "It's a pity you decided to start listen to your heart instead of your head. You were such a useful tool and I could have helped you so very much with your vengeance."

It was a testament to how much pain he was in that Killian didn't even respond to the indignity of being called a tool, and Emma had to wonder if he'd even heard the witch at all. Apparently Cora thought the same because she eased her grip and he gasped in relief. After a few seconds his eyes opened again and met hers with an emotion that she didn't understand before turning to Cora. The look he gave her should have burned her alive, though he said nothing, not that he needed to. Emma felt a shiver run through her at the expression and she swallowed hard in genuine fear of him. His expression was dark and it twisted his face in such a way that he appeared almost demonic as he snarled up at his captor like a wounded animal, before placing his hand on her arm, as if attempting to rip her hand out of his chest. The fact that he could only vaguely shove her seemed to only enrage him further.

"Oh look, it's the lovely set of bracelets you stole from me. Honestly I'm surprised you both kept them, especially after that moving display in the dungeon." Cora said as she grabbed his arm after watching his futile display of temper with some amusement. A wicked smile curled her lips and she eyed the leather, like an artist looking at a blank canvas. Emma looked on with dread as all of the anger bled out of Killian, and honest to goodness fear entered his eyes as they flickered from his bracer to her. His eyes widened further with both terror and confusion as he took note of the fact that yes, she was still wearing it, and his questioning gaze met hers. Why had she kept it? He'd let her go and she's had plenty of time to rip the damn thing off, so why hadn't she?

Emma didn't know how to answer him without giving away too much so she ignored the question entirely and instead looked back at Cora who had just started to chant in some strange language. She didn't understand the words being said, but she wasn't stupid, she didn't need to understand the language to know Cora was using magic. Powerful magic at that, if the way the words seemed to echo through and around her was any indication; and Emma felt a distinct and foreboding shift in the air as the witch finished. She wasn't sure what had happened, but whatever it was she knew it was bad for her, for both of them. All she could do was watch helplessly as his bracer glowed a dark purple, an almost blackish color, and from the warmth on her own skin she knew hers was the same. The strange warming sensation lasted only a moment before it was replaced by white hot pain that flew up her arm and both Emma and Killian cried out.

She clenched her fists at the sensation and the realizations that she could took a few seconds to come to the forefront of her mind. Quickly she tried to subtly shifted her body, to see how much control she had, and smiled; she was in full control of herself now. Apparently whatever Cora had done to the bracers required more magic than she possessed at the moment and she'd either taken the holding spell off or, more likely, been forced to let it go. Either way Emma was still too weak, after the beating she'd received today, to move overly much so she did her best not to bring attention to the fact that she could move at all. Best to wait for the best opportunity to attack. She was only going to get one shot at it.

"You didn't think I noticed what you did in the cell? You didn't think I realized what you had and hadn't used? Did you honestly think you could play both sides and come out on top Hook? You really thought you could beat me? How arrogant. Now you and your new-found heart will pay the price." Cora viciously squeezed the hand in his chest and Emma looked on horrified as Killian howled in pain again. Then something happened she hadn't expected, but probably should have, as the dull ache from before morphed into an intense, living thing, that radiated through her. She too screamed out and it was only through sheer determination and her self-preservation instinct that she was able to keep herself from moving overly much. It was like she was having _her_ heart squeezed. It hadn't felt nearly this bad when the Cora had done it to her. Yes, it had hurt, but nothing like this. Whatever had repelled the older woman must have also protected her, Killian, it would seem, did not have that luxury.

Emma's eyes locked with his and in that moment they both understood what Cora had done. She hadn't just reactivated the bracers, she'd linked them together and changed them. She may not be able to rip out Emma's heart, but she could rip out his. She was planning on using the bracers to torture them both, two birds with one stone.

_No_, Emma thought as she watched him, trying to breathe through the pain, _I won't let that happen._

She wasn't sure how magic worked, but, like a sixth sense, like some instinctive knowledge imbedded deep within her brought to bare by her desperation; she knew it was tied to her thoughts and emotions. So, gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling from before; the one that had sent Cora flying away from her. The knowledge that love was strength and that she had magic in her, powerful magic. It took her a moment too long, and she winced as Killian screamed again, but finally a warm sort of light flowed through her. It was nothing like the maelstrom of power from moments ago but it was enough to push the magic induced pain away, and into nothing more than a dull ache. The knowledge that she wasn't actually the one being tortured also helped and she opened her eyes again to glare at Cora's back.

She had to fix this.

This whole mess was her fault. If she hadn't been so angry and hurt over what she thought Killian had done, if she'd just listened to him, and not been so damn scared to trust. If he'd been conscious and unharmed then they could have used the precious seconds Cora was stunned by her magic and gotten away scot free. But no, she had to get the last word, or rather, the last hit in and been forced to waste time trying to help him because of it. Pushing herself slowly into a sitting position she winced as another ripple of dull pain flowed through her and Killian's now hoarse screams filled the air. Thankfully Cora seemed so focused on causing Killian as much pain as possible that she didn't even notice the distinct lack of feminine screaming in the air.

Emma looked frantically around as Cora continued her torment, looking for anything that could be of use. That was when she saw it. It was a cliché, it was a classic, and she knew from personal experience it was effective. After a deep breath she grabbed a large rock near her and fought to her feet. Using the older woman's one track mind against her she carefully stepped forward, closing the few feet between them, and, with all the strength she could muster; sent the rock careening into the witches head.

It connected with her skull forcefully and Emma felt hot liquid splash across her hand as the witch flew away from Hook, her hand leaving his chest. Instantly Killian's eyes snapped open and he took several deep breaths as he stared up at her. She stood, suspended for a moment staring dumbly at his awed expression, before her legs gave way and she fell toward the hard ground; only to land on something far softer and far warmer. The scent of salt, leather, and his distinctly comforting scent invaded her senses and the last thing she saw before losing consciousness was the bright blue of his eyes staring down at her.

0oo0o0o0o

Killian's eyes snapped open as the pain suddenly disappeared and it took him a moment to figure out what had happened. But when he did, all he could do was stare at her and the rock she held with wonder. A quick glance at Cora revealed that she wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon and so he focused on something far more important. He wasn't naïve enough to think that the blow had killed her, without her heart it was virtually impossible _to_ kill her, but the hit would keep her down for a time; hopefully long enough for them to get away.

"Emma, you-" he started but was stopped as the blonde in question lost her fight with consciousness. She started to fall to the ground and he cursed as he reached out to catch her before she hit the sand. He quickly checked her pulse and was relieved to find that it still beat strongly; she was exhausted, but alright.

Killian chuckled quietly as he held her, running his hand over her brow and hair. Just reveling in the fact that against all odds they were both still alive. Then he took a deep breath before shifting her gently to the ground and standing to stagger to the edge of the magic pool. Pulling out the bean he looked at it before dipping it into the crystalline waters. They reacted quickly, the pool bubbling and glowing, before settling again. He smiled triumphantly as he held up the now crystalline bean before his eyes. Then after taking a hand full of the restorative water, and filling up his empty rum flash for future use, he turned back to the two women. Moving quickly now that all his ills were taken care of Killian grabbed his sword, walked over to Emma, and picked her up. The idea of leaving her behind never even crossed his mind, and not only because he wasn't sure what Cora had done to the bracers. She'd come back for him, she'd come back for him when she knew she hadn't needed to. Then she'd saved them both from Cora's wrath. He'd finally won her loyalty, he was behind her mile high walls, and he _would not_ do anything to jeopardize that.

Once he had a good grasp on her he shifted his hold and slung her across his left shoulder. He needed freedom of movement and he needed to move fast. They had to get back to his ship before Cora awoke; he doubted they'd get another chance to flee if this one failed.

0oo000o0o0ooo0o

The first thing Emma registered, besides the fact that everything hurt, was that she could smell the sea and that she was on something very hard. She groaned low in her throat as she blinked her eyes open and immediately had to shut and cover them with her hand. Or rather she would have if she could move her hands. Confused, she tried to move around with her eyes screwed shut against the bright light around her and realized that the reason she couldn't move was because she was held down tightly by ropes. She had no idea where she was, or where Killian was for that matter, so she carefully shifted her body until her nose touched the hard surface below her which she now realized was wood. Wherever she was it was definitely bright and she noted as she moved, with disgust, that her clothes were completely soaked through. Now facing away from what she knew was the sun she attempted to open her eyes again. Squinting in the still too bright light she looked across what she now realized was a ship's deck, a very wet looking ship's deck, and looked at the wet black leather back of the man standing before the wheel.

Killian.

The last thing she remembered was being tortured by Cora beside a lake and knocking the bitch out. How she'd gotten from point A to point B and how she'd gotten _wet,_ was a complete mystery to her. Though she was positive he would know the answers. Just as she was positive it was going to be like pulling teeth to get those answers from him.

"…Ki -Hook…?" She said loudly, her voice sounding hoarse as she caught herself before she saying his given name. She may trust him, she might care about him, but she didn't want to encourage other... aspects of their relationship. Not now, not ever.

He paused mid wheel turn and looked back at her. He stared at her for a second before a genuinely bright smile lit his lips and he stepped away from the wheel to walk over and crouch down next to her. "Ah, you're finally awake again, I was becoming concerned. I expected you to regain consciousness when we went through the portal."

"Hook," she said as she looked up at him, eyes squinted against the glare of the sun over head. "Why am I wet and tied down to the deck of some ship?"

"This isn't "some ship", love. This is _my _ship, the Jolly Roger," he said, sounding like a proud father talking about his favorite son. She raised an incredulous eyebrow as he shifted slightly to lean over her. His body blocked out the light and she could see the smile on his face. "As to your current accommodations, I must apologize for that. I wanted to be underway quickly, and I couldn't waste precious time securing you down in the hold. Not with the threat of Cora looming above our heads. I was right about the restorative powers of the lake's water, and portals created by beans are more like whirlpools than anything else. Lucky for us I have a ship built to travel through them, though I couldn't very well steer her and hold you now could I, thus the ropes."

Emma took a moment to process all of the information and the fact that he was being so forth coming with it, in her still slightly clouded mind. When she did she swallowed thickly at the idea that this ship had just travelled through a whirlpool. To be honest she was actually really grateful that she'd been unconscious for that little adventure. "Alright, well we're not in a portal anymore so do you mind cutting me loose?"

Hook's smile morphed into a smirk, her eyes narrowed in response, before he reached down to run his hand gently through her still wet hair. "Now now love let's not be too hasty. As I remember it you've tied me up twice now, I think it's only fitting that you suffer a taste of your own medicine, don't you?"

She stared up at him, shocked, before, with a growl, she began to fight against the ropes. "You insufferable bastard!"

He sat back on his heels and watched her struggle for a few seconds laughing uproariously which only served to fuel her anger before he seemed to get a hold of himself. "Love...Love! Emma stop it! I can't cut you out if you're struggling. You need to learn to relax, I was only joking."

She stopped struggling and aimed a pretty impressive glare at him as he reached down and used his hook to cut away her bindings, a self-satisfied smirk firmly in place. "You couldn't have just cut the ropes could you, no, you needed to piss me off before doing it."

He shrugged as he pulled the last of the ropes away. "What can I say love, you're like the sea, beautiful when you're angry. Though at the moment you look more like a half drowned kitten sputtering up at me."

Emma frowned as she started to push herself up once the pull of the ropes vanish and she knocked his hand away when he moved to help her. She was still annoyed, and she could do it herself. She didn't need help from anyone. Killian hesitated for a moment looking from his hand to her and then, shaking his head with a chuckle, he stood again and headed back to the wheel. She was grateful that he didn't try to push the issue, she was far from in a mood to deal with his games. Though he did seem to be in a remarkably good mood at the moment. She hadn't seen him this...playful since their time in the giants vault before she'd tied him up.

After getting her feet under her securely, not an easy feat when the deck was rolling under her, she took a moment to stretch out her arms and aching back. Everything was sore all over and it felt like she'd been hit by a steam roller. Not surprising given the beating she'd been given today by both the man before her and Cora. Then she frowned as she watched Hook move at the wheel. He seemed no worse for wear and she pouted at the thought. He'd been the one on his knees before Cora being tortured, it wasn't fair that he seemed to have been unaffected by that. Though, if she really thought about it, it was probably a good thing he seemed to recover quickly from things or else Cora would have caught them and they would have never made it...where were they again?

She intended to ask him just that as she moved to stand near him at the helm and froze at the sight that lay before, "Is that...?"

"I would assume it's your Storybrooke," Hook replied and she didn't need to hear anything more before she ran as quickly as possible down the stairs to her left only stopping when she reached the bow of the ship. She didn't care if she looked like an over excited kid at Christmas, she was _home_. He'd gotten her home. Standing at the bow looking out over the water she smiled brightly and felt the happiest she had in ages.

Then she felt it.

She knew he was there half a second before a hand and a hook appeared on the either side of her framing her in. She expected some quip or innuendo any second but, much to her surprise it never came he didn't say anything for a few seconds, seemingly content to stand there with her as the docks approached them and his body heat and scent wrapped around her. It was strangely peaceful and it sent off warning bells in the back of her head she tried to ignore. Then he spoke, his mouth against the shell of her ear, "I told you I'd get you home."

Taking a centering breath she turned around in his arms to look up into his eyes. They were a startling blue as the light from the water hit them at just the right angle and she felt herself get lost in them for a moment. "Thank you."

"You're most welcome Emma," He smiled down at her bring his face close her own and the warning bells that had sounded moment ago began to clang fiercely. He was too close, too far past her walls and while she now trusted him implicitly as an ally and a friend, that didn't mean she wanted the promise that she saw in his eyes. It was a feeling, a innate knowledge that if she kissed him now there would be no going back, a kiss would never be just a kiss between them. He would never allow it to be, she could read that truth in his gaze, and her walls would shatter irrevocably. She wasn't ready for that. She wasn't ready for him. Not by a long shot. Never would be.

"Who's piloting the ship if you're here?" Emma asked saying the first things that popped into her head as she turned her head away from him to look at the wheel, which was turning itself interestingly enough. Her question surprised him and when he dropped one of his arms to lean back from her she took the opportunity to flee through the opening it created. The entire time she walked away from him and toward the center of the ship, where he couldn't box her in, she felt the heat of his stare on the back of her neck.

Once she was a safe distance away she turned back and found him leaning heavily against the side; his shoulders slumped, he looked tired and she winced slightly before smoothing out her face as he turned to look at her, standing tall once more. "I thought we were past this Emma. I thought you trusted me."

Emma visibly swallowed because that wasn't it. She did trust him...to an extent. She just couldn't trust him with her heart. It wasn't like she wasn't attracted to him or that she didn't care, because she did, a lot more than she was willing to admit even to herself. But she just couldn't do it. She couldn't risk her heart like that, not again, not after what Neal, Graham and August had done to it. She had a son she had to mother, a family she needed to reconnect with, and a town she had to protect. She couldn't afford the emotional fallout that would occur when he eventually left...or died. Because with his vendetta against the most powerful man in their little world it was very likely that he would. That's what people did in her life, they left. Oh they all stayed for varying amounts of time, and the world was bright and shining while they were there, but the bottom always fell out. Wasn't it enough that she was willing to accept the eventual pain when her time with her family was up? Why did fate see fit to throw him in her way as well? Why did the universe feel she needed to suffer his loss as well? Hadn't she been through enough in her life?

"I do trust you Hook," She replied making sure to look straight into his eyes. "I trust you as an ally and a friend. There's nothing left to get past."

A strange light flashed in his eyes, one that Emma didn't even want to think about. She held her breath as he sauntered over to her and stopped before her, just outside her personal space. He just stood there, staring into her face and into her eyes, and she wondered what it was that he was reading there. After about a minute he leaned in with his head tilted to the side and serious expression of his face. "Is that so, well then. As your _friend _dearest Emma I feel it is my duty to inform you that you can't hide forever. I'm not going to give up and I will break through eventually, it's only a matter of time."

Emma opened her mouth as if to respond but nothing came out. What could she say to a proclamation like that? "As to your earlier questions. My ship's a bit of a marvel, she's made out of enchanted wood. It means she can sail herself if I need her to, though, I tend to do it myself. I find steering to be a relaxing activity after having lived at sea for so long."

"Oh, well...that's handy," Emma responded lamely feeling awkward as he walked away shaking his head slightly, heading back to the wheel. He said nothing else after his proclamation; no innuendos, no taunts, or anything really that could have been upsetting to her, and that put her on edge. It usually meant that he was preparing to throw a comment at her that was going to throw her off balance. He seemed to love to lull her into a false sense of security because her reactions to his comments often told him more than her answers to them.

"Yes, very," he replied nonchalantly at the bottom of the stairs, then he turned to look at her. "I do need some help bring her into port though. If you're feeling up to it, do you think you could pull that rope there when I say?"

Emma swallowed hard as she nodded and walked over to the rope making sure her grip was secure as he headed up to the helm. She could tell that he was watching her but he didn't say anything more than instructions as they pulled the boat into the harbor and she pulled the rope that adjusted the sails to slow their speed down using the wind. It confused her, why was he being so nice, if that was even the word, not that she was really in the mood or had enough energy for an argument with him. It was just strange that he hadn't started one.

"Looks like someone saw us and sent word," he yelled down to her after a good five minutes of silence and she looked in the directions she knew the docks to be, but she couldn't see them over the side of the ship from her angle.

"What do you mean?"

"Well it seems we have quite the welcome party waiting for us, though, I'm not sure how good of a thing that really is." He said as he left the wheel and came down to her. When he reached her he took the rope and gestured away. "Here, the hard part's done. Let me tie it off and you go show those people your gorgeous face so they know you're home."

She gave him a flat look but also didn't argue with him and started to walk away but stopped as a thought occurred to her, "If the entire town knows this ship is here, the _he_ probably does too."

"Aye, I'm sure he does," Killian said sounding not at all happy at the idea as he began tying the rope securely. "The element of surprise is a small price to pay though."

"What does that mean?" she asked and he just gave her a look before shaking his head with a small smirk and walking back to the wheel.

Emma frowned after him then turned and jogged across the deck too look out over the bay and realized that they were basically at the docks. Apparently this ship didn't just sail itself but was also insanely fast as well. On the dock she could see half the town standing there, watching as they slowly pulled into the berth and when they saw her a cheer went up. She waved at them and watched as there was a sudden burst of movement in the throngs of people a few seconds before Henry and her parents were pushed to the front. She felt tears in her eyes as she watched her mother all but collapse against her father in tears and her son bounced up and down waving enthusiastically at her. She could hear him yelling up to her as the ship bounced against the moorings and the only thing stopping him from jumping and climbing up to her was the hand Ruby had on his shoulder. Suddenly a coil of heavy rope flew off the ship from her left and she turned to watch as Killian threw another one. Both were caught by people on the dock and quickly tied off.

"Mom!" Henry yelled as he ducked around his grandparents and Ruby before running up the gangplank Hook sent clattering to the dock. He almost bowled over the surprised pirate as he ran to his mother and the force of his hug spun them around almost knocked Emma to the ground.

"Hey kid," she laughed as she held him tight and buried her face in his hair. She was home, she was safe, but most of all she was with Henry again and he was alright.

"Emma!" She had only a word of warning before she was pulled into a powerful hug by her mother and then subsequently by her father as well, both of them had tears in their eyes. "What happened? How did you get here?"

Emma looked over their shoulders at Killian who was watching the proceedings with raised eyebrows, and a look in his face that was almost disbelieving. He caught her eyes and a smirk curled his lips as he cocked an incredulous eyebrow, he was teasing her about her display of emotion, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. Instead she quickly stuck her tongue out at him like a five year old and then decided to ignore him.

"Hook had a magic bean he stole of the giant. It was useless until he used the lake water to restore it. That's how we got here," Snow accepted the story with a nod and cut David off before he could comment on it. "But how did you get away from Cora?"

"That would be your daughter's handiwork," Killian answered coming to stand closer to them, though he was still a respectful distance away. "She may not be able to handle a sword but with a rock she's golden."

"Not able to handle a sword?" Emma replied offended and then scoffed. "Well if I'm not good what's that make you. Seeing as I beat you and all."

Killian snorted, "Darling, I let you win."

Emma's eyes narrowed and she was about to respond when Henry let go of her and walked across to the pirate, "You're Captain Hook aren't you?"

"Aye, that I am lad. What gave me away, was it the hook? I bet it was the hook," he said as he crouched down to talk level with him and her son laughed. Emma had to stop herself from moving forward to snatch him back as old insecurities made themselves known now that she was home. However she quickly pushed them away and shook her head at her parents who both shifted forward as if they too were going to intervene in the meeting. Killian had more than earned her trust back at the lake and pulling Henry away now would be an insult to him. They both looked at her with confusion, but honored her wishes which she was grateful for, but she did roll her eyes as they both proceeded to stare down the pirate as he talked with their grandson.

It was then that she heard it, while everyone else was distracted. It was the off tempo tread of a man with a limp and a cane sounding loud in the suddenly quiet crowd on the dock. Something that could only belong to the one cane-wielding cripple in town. Instantly, like a balloon bursting, all her happiness at being home was gone and she saw the way Snow stiffened next to her, as she heard it too. Their entrance into Storybrooke hadn't exactly been subtle and with the amount of people on the docks, she'd known word would reach him. She'd just hoped she'd have more time than this.

"I'd be careful who you let near your boy Miss Swan," his voice called from the area near the gang plank moving ever closer. Instantly Hook, who'd been listening to a question about Neverland and hadn't heard the approaching storm, stiffened and the look that passed across his face made her son take a step back in fright. "There are some really terrible people out there."

The silence for everyone involved was deafening as they watched Hook rise to his full height. He quickly put a hand on Henry's shoulder and gently pushed him back toward his family, and out of harm's way, before turning to face the demon whose memory had haunted him. He looked Gold up and down, face in passive and then he took a few steps forward to confront him. Carefully, so as to not draw attention to herself, though she doubted either man would notice a marching band passing by at this point, Emma moved to situate herself within striking distance. As she did she felt two different people grab her arms and looked at both her parents. They both looked at one another and then shook their heads. She just leveled them with a flat glare and shook them off. She was still the sheriff of this town and it was her job to keep law and order. She'd stay out of it as long as the hits between them stayed verbal. However, she would have to get involved if it turned physical or in Gold's case, magical.

"Well, well, Crocodile, I see you've re-acquired your limp," Killian, no, Hook drawled and she didn't need to see his face to know his expression must have been malevolent. She bit her lip. No, this wasn't Killian right now, "What a shame."

"Captain, I must admit it is a surprise to see you still living. I thought you'd died when I didn't hear from you in what, over _three hundred years _or so?" Gold taunted, that condescending smile of his firmly in place. "My, my, but dear Milah would be disappointed it's taken you this long to avenge her."

Emma's mouth opened slightly at both the barb and the revelation that Hook had been looking for a way to kill this man for over _three hundred years_. Emma had never even heard of that kind of devotion before, that level of hate, that level of pain. Yet here was Gold, taunting Hook for it. The urge to hit the older man was palpable and Hook stiffened as his hand balled itself into a fist before stepping forward. He then said something that made Emma's stomach drop as she realized exactly how out of his depth he truly was, "You die today, there's no magic you can hide behind any longer."

He didn't know Gold had magic.

"Oh no, not magic," he hissed and then, so hard that she could hear the crack from as far away as she was, he hit the pirate across the head with his cane and Hook fell hard to the deck, his head smacking into the wood, as blood flowed from a wound on his temple. The fact that Gold hadn't used magic and instead gone for a physical assault impressed upon them all exactly how much he hated the pirate. Emma staggered slightly as the bracer on her arm glowed and her head snapped to the side and pain bloomed on the back of her head.. That's right; she'd completely forgotten the bracers were working again. Though she could tell, because she was still conscious even though she hadn't had time to block the magic out, that the connection was weaker here than it had been in the forest.

"That's enough!" Emma yelled after she shook off the moment with some help from her father who, held her up and eyed her and the bracer with concern. She just shook her head and he understood that they didn't have time to talk about it now. Quickly she moved forward, once the world stopped spinning, and grabbed the cane before Gold could swing again. Forget the fact that they were connected and Gold killing Hook would probably kill her, she just didn't want to see him hurt. So, she held the cane as he tried to take it back and stood in front of the fallen man.

"He's here to kill me! He stole my wife and now he means to take my life!" Gold snarled, though he wasn't looking at her. She might have been a box for all the attention he paid to her. It was a strange experience for her. Usually Gold was aware of everyone and everything around him all the time. It was how he was able to one up everyone, but at the moment he…wasn't. "Get out of my way, Miss Swan."

"No," Emma snapped back and paused as, like lightening, an idea came to her. Maybe she could use this single mindedness against _him_, just like she had with Cora. "I may have just gotten back, but I'm still Sheriff of this town, and I won't let you hurt this man. So back off."

His eyes finally shifted to her and she tried to make her expression as impassive as possible in the face of his anger. "And why would I do that, Dearie? What are you going to do to me? I'm more powerful than you could ever hope to be and you still owe me a debt."

Emma suppressed the smile that wanted to form on her lips, she got him.

"Because if you didn't we'd be forced to ask Belle how she felt about the situation." David cut in glaring at Gold as he came to stand next to his daughter. "I'm sure she'd have a lot to say about it."

Emma raised a confused eyebrow and looked over at her father. Who was Belle and why did mentioning her to Gold make the older man hesitate and pale? Then, almost miraculously, Gold straightened up and with all the dignity he could muster he pulled his cane from her slackened grip and began to limp away from the four of them.

"This isn't over," Gold hissed over his shoulder and again, he was focused on Hook and not them. Once he was off the ship Emma let go of a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and Snow put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What happened? What is this?" David hissed as he grabbed her arm and held it before him, staring at the bracer like he would like nothing better than too cut it too pieces.

"It's a kind of slave collar," Snow helpfully piped up as she glared at the unconscious pirate at her feet. "_He_ put it on her to buy our cooperation, then he betrayed us anyway."

"HE WHAT?!" David roared and Emma grabbed him as he made a dive for the prone man.

"David stop!" She yelled as she pushed him away. "He's already unconscious, what are you going to do to him? Plus, if you hurt him you hurt me!"

That pulled her father up short, "What do you mean, what magic is in these things?"

"I don't know, Cora did something to them before we could get away from her. But _I think_ that if either of us is hurt the other will feel it. She wanted to torture us both at the same time." Her family stared at her horrified and she shrugged before turned back to look at the pirate, "But they're working differently here, the connection seems weaker, back in the other world I would have been knocked out too with a hit like that."

David sighed, "That's probably true, both Gold and Regina have said that magic in general works differently here because it's not supposed to be here at all."

"Maybe they can help?" Henry said thoughtfully as he pulled on her arm and looked at the bracer himself. "If Cora changed it with magic maybe they can fix it."

Emma's forehead furrowed and she hesitated, "I don't think either of them would really want to help us out. Especially Gold, he did just try to kill Hook, I doubt he'd be willing to help him."

"Regina will," Snow said after a moment and she sighed when Emma eyed her skeptically.

"Gold apparently did something to the portal and she fixed it, if she hadn't I would have died coming through."

"Yea! She's been trying to be good and if she uses magic at all it's only to help people. She'll definitely help you if I ask her." Henry said smiling brightly at her which pulled a smile from her as well. He was always able to make her feel better.

"So what do we do with him," David asked jerking his thumb at the still unconscious pirate. Emma stared down at him, her mind going a mile a minute as she fit all the pieces of her plan together and then she turned to her father when she had the full picture.

"We take him to the Sheriff's station," She said simply, and then she gave him the best excuse she could on the spot. "We need to put him somewhere where he can't run off half cocked to kill Gold. He doesn't even know the man has magic, you heard him. Plus, if we take him to a hospital it will be easier for Gold to get at him."

"Why does it matter?" Snow asked eyeing her in a way the made Emma feel like she suspected something that was too insane to even think about. "Why are you protecting him, if it's the bracers you're worried about then just have Gold take care of them. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to fix the problem and then get rid of Hook."

"Snow," she sighed a little disquieted at the coldness with which her mother regarded the pirate. "I get that you didn't leave him on the best terms but … he saved my life _and_ he got me home when he could have left me. If nothing else I owe him this."

"Alright, I was just asking. You're right, even considering all the bad he's done, no one deserves to be left at Gold's mercy." Her mother held up her hands in surrender and Henry moved to looked at the unconscious man thoughtfully.

"Mom, why do they hate each other?" He asked as she and David both pick up one arm each and hauled his dead weight up.

"Later Henry," she replied through grit teeth. All she wanted to do was get him to a jail cell before he woke and maybe even take a shower in the stations locker room where she knew she had a spare change of clothes. Yes, that sound like the best plan.


End file.
